Meanings
nountipping element (plural tipping elements)
plural tipping elements
- climatologyLarge-scale components of the Earth climate system that may pass a tipping point.
Accordingly, ice is a tipping element that responds abruptly to changes across this tipping point. Trespassing the tipping point for phase transition from ice to liquid water sets all the other tipping elements contained in the Arctic region in motion […]
2011, Paul Wassmann, Arctic Tipping Points, Fundacion BBVA, →ISBN, page 17
Origin
Introduced in a 2008 paper.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German Kippelement
- Kippelementlarge-scale components
Polish punkt krytyczny
- punkt krytycznylarge-scale components
Cite this entry
APA
tipping element. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tipping%20element
MLA
“tipping element.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tipping%20element. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tipping element,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tipping%20element.
Source: tipping element on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.