critical mass

/ˌˈkrɪdəkəl ˌmæs/

Other forms: critical masses

Critical mass is the minimum amount of something required to start or maintain any project or venture. In order for a new ice cream store to succeed, the need for it must reach critical mass.

Any movement or venture has to reach critical mass to carry on and succeed. The critical mass of a popular band would be the point at which their popularity starts to explode. In nuclear physics, critical mass is the smallest mass of material that will start a chain reaction in a nuclear bomb or reactor. Both kinds of critical mass begin chain reactions.

Definitions of critical mass

1. noun

   the minimum amount (of something) required to start or maintain a venture
   “the battle for the computer market has now reached critical mass”

   “there is now a critical mass of successful women to take the lead”

   “they sold the business because it lacked critical mass”

   type of:

   amount

   the relative magnitude of something with reference to a criterion
2. noun

   the minimum mass of fissionable material that can sustain a chain reaction
   type of:

   mass

   the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field