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
Richard Lacayo3
: tinderbox sense 2
The city became a flash point as tensions grew.
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
The Helmand has long been a flash point between the neighbors, with both drought and politics shaping the dispute.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
And a handful of standout horror films from around the ’70s, Johnson argues, specifically mirrored and even accelerated feminist flash points at a moment when public opinion regarding the roles and rights of women was wildly in flux.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
Arrests are taking place all over the Chicago area, but some of the biggest flash points have occurred on the South and West Sides, which are home to many of the city’s largest Black and Latino communities.
—Geraldo Cadava, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2025
Abdel Kareem Hana / AP The issue of returning the remains of the hostages has become a potential flash point and could threaten the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
—Rebecca Shabad, NBC news, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flash point
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Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
And a handful of standout horror films from around the ’70s, Johnson argues, specifically mirrored and even accelerated feminist flash points at a moment when public opinion regarding the roles and rights of women was wildly in flux.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
Arrests are taking place all over the Chicago area, but some of the biggest flash points have occurred on the South and West Sides, which are home to many of the city’s largest Black and Latino communities.
—Geraldo Cadava, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2025
Abdel Kareem Hana / AP The issue of returning the remains of the hostages has become a potential flash point and could threaten the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
—Rebecca Shabad, NBC news, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flash point
Cite this Entry
“Flash point.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flash%20point. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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