Definition of "breakeven" []

• Marked by or indicating a balance, especially between investment and return. (adjective)
• The point, especially the level of sales of a good or service, at which the return on investment is exactly equal to the amount invested. (noun)
• The point at which the energy put into a system is equalled by the energy produced by that system: reaching breakeven in controlled fusion reactions. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "So the way to look at this is we've reached the short-term breakeven point, but we will continue to work that breakeven point down beyond the end of this year."
• "However, while this may delay our short-term breakeven we are confident we will achieve this milestone by the end of the year and we continue to be optimistic about the long-term profitability potential of the company."
• "The amount of energy generated by the solar cells only reaches the amount of energy used to make the cells after two and a half years (on average) Installing solar cells involves an inflexible investment with long term breakeven in CO2 emissions and in dollar terms."