Meaning & use
crossroads in life
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrasefigurative
A moment when you must choose between important directions in your personal or professional life.
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase: at a crossroads in life, reach a crossroads in life.
Patterns
- at a crossroads in life
- reach a crossroads in life
After losing her job, she felt she was at a crossroads in life.
Many people reach a crossroads in life when their children leave home.
He saw the move to another country as a crossroads in life, not just a change of address.
phrasefixed phrasefigurative
A turning point where a person must decide what to do next and cannot easily go back.
Grammar: Often follows verbs like be, stand, find yourself.
Patterns
- stand at a crossroads in life
- find yourself at a crossroads in life
Graduation put him at a crossroads in life: continue studying or start working.
She found herself at a crossroads in life after the divorce.
The illness made him stand at a crossroads in life and rethink his priorities.
Common combinations
- at a crossroads in life
- At a crossroads in life, she asked her mentor for advice.
- reach a crossroads in life
- He reached a crossroads in life when he turned forty.
- a major crossroads in life
- Choosing a university is a major crossroads in life for many teenagers.
- stand at a crossroads in life
- After the accident, he stood at a crossroads in life.
Synonyms and how they differ
- turning point
- A turning point is any moment of important change, while a crossroads in life stresses the need to choose between options.
- juncture
- Juncture is more formal and often used in writing about history or politics, not personal life.
- fork in the road
- This is a similar metaphor but more visual and less common in everyday speech.
Commonly confused: crossroads in life or crossroad?
crossroads in life vs crossroad
A crossroad is a place where roads meet; the figurative phrase always uses the plural crossroads.
Practice
After years of working in finance, Maya felt she was ______ and needed to decide whether to change careers.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase uses 'at a crossroads in life'. 'In', 'on', and 'by' do not collocate with this idiom when talking about a decision point.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “crossroads in life”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.