Learn English – Problem that causes progress to come to a complete halt

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There are some problems that are minor and do not affect the overall operation at hand enough to stop it. For example, a broken radio is not a significant enough problem for driving a car. However, an empty gas tank is, and it needs to be resolved before the car can go.

What is an adjective to describe such a major problem or issue? I think I've heard a "gating issue" on a project I was involved in before, but a Google search didn't turn up much.

e.g. This is a _____ issue, so it needs to be resolved before we can make any progress.

Best Answer

A term used in the software industry is showstopper:

showstopper: n.

A hardware or (especially) software bug that makes an implementation effectively unusable; one that absolutely has to be fixed before development can go on. Opposite in connotation from its original theatrical use, which refers to something stunningly good.

So you could say, "This is a showstopper, so it needs to be resolved before we can make any progress."

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