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
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
This case has become a national flash point as the Trump administration ratchets up its deportation efforts and its crackdown on immigration.
—
Brett Samuels, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
Gender dynamics became a flash point: Danes see themselves as pioneers for equality, while many new arrivals came from traditional Muslim societies where women often did not work outside the home and girls could not always decide when and whom to marry.
—Robert Petkoff Krish Seenivasan Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025
The veteran transportation-safety reporter Matthew L. Wald joins The Political Scene podcast to break down how airline safety has become a political flash point.
—Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2025
Antarctica is another flash point.
—Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flash point
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Brett Samuels, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
Gender dynamics became a flash point: Danes see themselves as pioneers for equality, while many new arrivals came from traditional Muslim societies where women often did not work outside the home and girls could not always decide when and whom to marry.
—Robert Petkoff Krish Seenivasan Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025
The veteran transportation-safety reporter Matthew L. Wald joins The Political Scene podcast to break down how airline safety has become a political flash point.
—Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2025
Antarctica is another flash point.
—Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 4 Mar. 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 1 May. 2025.
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