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

Yet another campaign flash point was Police Chief Jim McDonnell, who was appointed by Bass to run the LAPD in 2024. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026

Her vote for his Supreme Court justices became a major flash point, as did her votes on last year’s GOP tax law and the war in Iran. — David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 4 Nov. 2026

Al-Mughayyir is one of the West Bank’s flash points, the site of fatal flare-ups between settlers and Palestinians and lethal military raids. — Suheir Hashimeh, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2026

In Iowa, data centers have been a flash point in the race between Democratic Senate nominee Josh Turek and Republican nominee Ashley Hinson, with Turek proposing restrictions and Hinson emphasizing the need for local control. — Naomi Nix, Time, 29 Oct. 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