bursting point

noun

The point at which capacity is exceeded and something cannot take any more.

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Meanings

noun
  1. The point at which capacity is exceeded and something cannot take any more.

    Third class carriages have wooden seats and centre corridors; they are always crammed to bursting point.

    1950 April, Timothy H. Cobb, “The Kenya-Uganda Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 263
    1 more example

    "HS2 is based on the West Coast Main Line bursting at the seams. Both that and the East Coast Main Line are at bursting point for capacity.

    2020 June 3, Richard Clinnick, “Network News: HS2 progress: "volume of activity is growing"”, in Rail, page 11
  2. The point at which emotional self-control is lost.
Cite this entry
APA

bursting point. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bursting%20point

MLA

“bursting point.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bursting%20point. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bursting point,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bursting%20point.

Source: bursting point on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.