false alarm

noun

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of false alarm

1 : an alarm (such as a fire or burglar alarm) that is set off needlessly

2 : something causing alarm or excitement that proves to be unfounded

See false alarm defined for English-language learners

Examples of false alarm in a Sentence

A false alarm drew firefighters to the school.
The report that the factory would be closing was a false alarm.
He thought he might be having a heart attack, but his chest pains were just a false alarm.

Recent Examples of false alarm from the Web

The systems are designed to discard radar data about things that aren’t moving, to prevent false alarms for every overhead gantry or street-side trash can.

— jack stewart, WIRED, "Tesla's Autopilot Was Involved in Another Deadly Car Crash," 30 Mar. 2018
Brown also considered two recent false alarms — one of a missile attack in Hawaii and a tsunami test alarm in Seaside inadvertently sent out as the real thing — in making her decision.

— elliot njus, OregonLive.com, "Avalanche warning issued for Mount Hood," 27 Jan. 2018
The false alarm in Hawaii this weekend amid rising U.S.-North Korea tensions means nuclear war is touching a new generation of Americans.

— cameron knight, Cincinnati.com, "A Cincinnatian's guide to nuclear war," 17 Jan. 2018
Other funds come from grants, insurance payments for ambulance service, donations, false alarm fines and construction plan reviews.

— susan demar lafferty, Daily Southtown, "New Lenox to close fire station No. 2, cut 4 positions," 29 Mar. 2018
Schools in metro Detroit and across the country have been swamped with threats of violence in recent weeks, with the vast majority turning out to be false alarms or pranks, yet highly disruptive.

— brandon patterson, Detroit Free Press, "Threats shut nearly 2 dozen schools across metro Detroit," 22 Mar. 2018
According to a police report, this was the third false alarm officers had responded to since the beginning to the year.

— steven martinez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Oconomowoc-Summit police reports: Lad Lake escapee steals 2 cars, crashes 1," 24 Jan. 2018
The company said its test had an overall accuracy of 84 to 88 percent for detecting cancer or precancerous growths and a false alarm rate around 3 percent.

— Time, "Scientists Make Progress on Blood Test to Detect the Most Deadly Cancers," 20 Jan. 2018
In the eyes of some writers, the warning signs of segregation are all a false alarm—little more than a statistical mirage.

— will stancil, The Atlantic, "School Segregation Is Not a Myth," 14 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'false alarm.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of false alarm

1578

FALSE ALARM Defined for English Language Learners

false alarm

noun

Definition of false alarm for English Language Learners

: an alarm (such as a fire alarm) that is set off when it is not needed
: something that causes people to wrongly believe that something bad or dangerous is going to happen