crux
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crux¹
- /kɹʌks/ UK
- /kɹʊks/ Northern England
- /kɾʌks/ Scotland, Wales
- /kɹʌks/ US
- /krəks/ US
- /kɹɐks/ Australia
Sounds like crooks (without the foot–strut split) · Rhymes with -ʌks
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Latin crux (“cross, wooden frame for execution”), possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, to bend”). Doublet of cross and crouch (“cross”).
noun cruxes · cruces · crocs
-
The basic, central, or essential point or feature.
The crux of her argument was that the roadways needed repair before anything else could be accomplished.
Similar: core, essence, heart, gist, bowels, sum, brass tacks, crux, drift, guts, gravamen, heart and soul
- The critical or transitional moment or issue, a turning point. The mad certitude of the ogre, Abel Tiffauges, that he stands at the crux of history and that he will be able to raise Prussia "to a higher power" (p. 180), contrasts sharply with the anxiety and doubt attendant upon most modern literary dreams.
- A puzzle or difficulty. What I have advanced upon this species of verse will contribute to solve a poetical problem, thrown out by Dryden as a crux to his brethren
- The hardest point of a climb. the real crux of the climb was encountered
- A cross on a coat of arms.
Crux²
- /kɹʌks/ UK
Sounds like crux
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from Latin crux (“a cross”).
proper noun
-
A distinctive winter constellation of the southern sky, shaped like a cross. It appears in the flags of several countries in Oceania.
Similar: Southern Cross
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: southern cross, crux australis, substance, essence, crucial, quid, gist, fact, basis, essential, central, fund, centre, problem, center, axis
Translations
Every language
noun central or essential point
| Español | punto crucial, asunto esencial, quid, meollo |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 關鍵 /关键 guānjiàn |
| Português | ponto crucial |
| Deutsch | Kern (-punkt) |
| Italiano | punto cruciale |
| Română | punct crucial |
| Русский | основная проблема osnovnaja problema, решающий вопрос rešajuščij vopros, суть sutʹ |
| العربية | مَرْبِط الْفَرَس marbiṭ al-faras |
| עברית | עיקר ikar |
noun critical or transitional moment
| Português | momento decisivo |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Wendepunkt |
| Română | moment decisiv |
noun puzzle or difficulty
| Español | busilis |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Crux, Knackpunkt |
noun hardest part of a climb
| Français | crux |
|---|
Talk about this word "crux." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/crux. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. crux. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/crux "crux." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/crux.Cite this
@misc{crux_2026,
title = {crux},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/crux},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
