Other forms: breaking points
A breaking point is a moment when there's so much stress or pressure that mental or physical strength just can't hold up. A harried substitute teacher who reaches the breaking point might refuse to teach French ever again.
Most of us can maintain our composure under extremely difficult circumstances. Still, everyone has a breaking point, when we just can't keep it together any longer. After two weeks of rain, your breaking point might be discovering six inches of water in your basement. And a cool-headed theater director might reach her breaking point when not one, not two, but three of her actors call in sick. Stressed out? You can say, "My nerves are stretched to the breaking point!"