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

For the past 13 years, Maricopa County in Arizona has attempted to reform its sheriff’s department after Joe Arpaio made it into a national flash point for extreme immigration tactics. —Jonathan Van Harmelen, The Conversation, 20 Apr. 2026

The killing has become a flash point in a wider crackdown across the Persian Gulf. —Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 17 Apr. 2026

The Salvadoran national’s case has become a flash point in immigration debates after he was mistakenly deported last year and forcibly brought back. —Travis Loller, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026

Lebanon becomes the flash point The single biggest point of contention, and now the most violent, is Lebanon. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 8 Apr. 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