critical

/ˈkrɪtɪkəl/ adjective

Definition

› extremely important to the progress or success of something: critical to/for sth Logistics and distribution are critical to an e-commerce venture's success. Critical decisions need to be taken. We see this as a critical time and potentially a turning point in the crisis.

› extremely serious or dangerous: be in critical condition As a result of unchecked pollution, the Chesapeake Bay is in critical condition. The company had a loss of $511,000 and a critical shortage of cash.

› saying that someone or something is bad or wrong: A highly critical report was released Tuesday on BP's five U.S. refineries.critical of sb/sth He is very critical of his manager.

› using careful judgment: We need to do some critical thinking to solve this problem.

critically adverb › The small business market as a whole is critically important. Regional or bilateral trade deals need to be looked at more critically.

(Definition of critical adjective from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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