crossroads

1. (figuratively, by extension) A centrally located position.Examples: "The shiny wet black triangle at the crossroads of where her legs split."; "Together they control the approaches to this important railway crossroads from Chester, Crewe, Wolverhampton, Hereford and Machynlleth, and the station itself via an unusual mix of semaphore and colour light signals."broadlyfiguratively

2. (figuratively, by analogy) A decision point; a turning point or opportunity to change a direction, a course, or a goal.Examples: "Well Russia at the present time is at a crossroads. It is often said that the Cold War is over and that the West has won it- that's only half true. Because what has happened is that the communists have been defeated, but the ideas of freedom now are on trial. If they don't work, there will be a reversion to, not communism which has failed, but what I call a new despotism which would pose a mortal danger to the rest of the world because it would be infected with the virus of Russian imperialism which of course has been a characteristic of Russian foreign policy for centuries."Synonyms: turning point, watershedfiguratively

3. (nonstandard) A fork in the road.Examples: "But first he stopped his car at the crossroads where the highway forked off to Gastmann's house."; "The Company A commander, Captain Helmer, was at the crossroads where the road split, with the left fork leading to Udenbreth, when he saw a group of men coming toward him."; "When she reached the crossroads where the trail split, one part of her yearned to head toward the lake."nonstandard