Meanings
plural jumping-off points
- A starting point for a mission, adventure, investigation etc.
Not far south of Keelung is the small inland town of Juifang, the jumping-off point for one of northern Taiwan’s most picturesque getaways.
2003, Vivien Kim, editor, Taiwan (Insight Guides), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 1712 more examples
St Davids is also the jumping-off point for the Tarka Line to Barnstaple, and to Exmouth as well as to Waterloo, all of which makes the station a busy location.
2024 September 18, David Clough, “Riding the route of the 'Riviera Express'”, in RAIL, number 1018, page 39Morris's oeuvre gave Appelbaum a jumping-off point to explore the rich symbolism embedded in natural motifs, which he has developed and applied to tables, shelves, and more as part of a series titled Severe Optimism.
2026 May 29, Hannah Martin, “The Naturalist”, in Architectural Digest, volume 83, number 4, page 60Synonyms: jumping-off place
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA starting point for a mission, adventure, investigation etc.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna beginning from which an enterprise is launched
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Includes a deverbal component from jump off.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
jumping-off point. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jumping-off%20point
“jumping-off point.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jumping-off%20point. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jumping-off point,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jumping-off%20point.
Source: jumping-off point on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.