/ ˈkruːʃl; NAmE / adjective
~ (to / for sth) | ~ (that ... ) extremely important, because it will affect other things
SYN critical , essential :
a crucial factor / issue / decision
topics of crucial importance
Winning this contract is crucial to the success of the company.
The next few weeks are going to be crucial.
It is crucial that we get this right.
Parents play a crucial role in preparing their child for school.
He wasn't there at the crucial moment (= when he was needed most) .
➡ note at essential
► cru·cial·ly / -ʃəli; NAmE / adverb :
crucially important
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WORD ORIGIN
early 18th cent. (in the sense cross-shaped ): from French , from Latin crux , cruc- cross. The sense decisive is from Francis Bacon's Latin phrase instantia crucis crucial instance, which he explained as a metaphor from a crux or fingerpost marking a fork at a crossroad; Newton and Boyle took up the metaphor in experimentum crucis crucial experiment.