Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1700-1800
Language: French
Origin: 'cross-shaped', from Latin crux; CROSS2

crucial

 adjective
     
cru‧cial S3 W2
something that is crucial is extremely important, because everything else depends on it
crucial to
This aid money is crucial to the government's economic policies.
crucial in/to doing something
The work of monks was crucial in spreading Christianity.
play a crucial role/part in something
The city of Mycenae played a crucial role in the history of Greece.
The conservation of tropical forests is of crucial importance.
—crucially adverb
WORD FOCUS: important WORD FOCUS: important
similar words: main, key, chief, principal, leading, vital, crucial, essential, significant
not important: unimportant, trivial, minor, irrelevant, insignificant

➔ See also important
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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