cusp: Meaning and Definition of

cusp

Pronunciation: (kusp), [key]
— n.
  1. a point or pointed end.
  2. a point, projection, or elevation, as on the crown of a tooth.
  3. Also calleda point where two branches of a curve meet, end, and are tangent.
  4. a decorative device, used esp. in Gothic architecture to vary the outlines of intradoses or to form architectural foils, consisting of a pair of curves tangent to the real or imaginary line defining the area decorated and meeting at a point within the area.
  5. a point of a crescent, esp. of the moon.
    1. the zodiacal degree that marks the beginning of a house or a sign.
    2. Informal.a person born on the first day of a sign.
  6. a point that marks the beginning of a change: on the cusp of a new era.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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