<p>The concept of ‘polycrisis’ leapt from Davos into everyday policy talk, yet its meaning remains fluid and sometimes contradictory. To take stock, we asked fifty experts to sort key related statements, and carried out a Q-methodology analysis to reveal four distinct framings. All experts agree that polycrisis spills across sectors and borders and reject the view that polycrisis is a mere buzzword. They diverge, however, on how much faith to place in current knowledge systems and on polycrisis’ drivers. Connecting these insights with Edgar Morin’s crisis theory (<i>crisiology</i>) suggests that polycrisis is best understood as a metamorphic hinge where breakdown and transformation unfold together. We argue that advancing this agenda requires drawing on sustainability science: tracing feedbacks and power, embracing plural knowledges, and situating crises in relational, historical, and reflexive perspectives. Rather than a passing label, polycrisis emerges as a generative lens for navigating the turbulence of planetary upheaval and, as such, a compass for steering pathways of transformation.</p>