flash point

noun

1

: the lowest temperature at which vapors above a volatile combustible substance ignite in air when exposed to flame

2

: a point at which someone or something bursts suddenly into action or being

But the feud between the two men reached another flash point …

—Richard Lacayo

3

: tinderbox sense 2

The city became a flash point as tensions grew.

Synonyms of flash point

• volcano
• time bomb

Examples of flash point in a Sentence

The city became a flash point as political tensions grew.

The situation reached a flash point when union leaders urged the workers to protest.

Recent Examples on the Web

Voting by mail has been a flash point since the 2020 presidential election when Philadelphia and Pennsylvania sat at the center of controversy. — Heather Lamarre, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026

James’s appointment has become the latest flash point in the swelling controversy over the 2024 incident and its handling by officials. — Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 13 Oct. 2026

The number of geopolitical flash points would multiply as governments rushed to grab their share of the oceans and protect their claims through force. — Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026

The dispute over the route became one of the defining flash points of the conflict in Northern Ireland. — Amanda Ferguson Reuters, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1878, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for flash point

• adjoint
• anoint
• appoint
• checkpoint
• conjoint
• disjoint
• endpoint
• gunpoint
• midpoint
• nonpoint
• pinpoint
• standpoint