third rail

noun

Definition of third railnext
as in hot button

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of third rail That is part of why K-12 schools have long been treated like a third rail. — Karl Mawhinney, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026 EMUs are faster and can often carry more people, but require overhead catenary lines or a third rail, while the battery electric locomotives can be used on non-electrified track by charging their batteries, reducing the infrastructure investment. — State House News Service, Boston Herald, 1 May 2026 That train also hit debris — potentially a loose section of the third rail, sources told The News. — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2026 The substations’ main function is to convert raw, high-voltage electricity from the electrical grid into lower-voltage power that can be delivered to the third rail. — New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for third rail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for third rail
  1. hot button
  2. time bomb
  3. powder keg
  4. flash point
Noun
  • The conflict has also become a hot button topic at Venice, with activists calling on the festival to raise the Palestinian flag in recognition of the Palestinian directors in selection.
    — Nada Aboul Kheir, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Grande’s health status has been a hot button topic over the past few years, with fans expressing concern about her physical appearance and speculating about her health.
    — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of hot button
Noun
  • In Europe, multiethnic capitals are pilloried by the far right as demographic time bombs, ground zero for invasions of unwanted foreigners.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Blood streamed through his veins, pulsing inside him, like a ticking time bomb.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of time bomb
Noun
  • The proof ignited a powder keg of concern over artificial intelligence companies’ race to disrupt the subject.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Perhaps this is part of the problem with the powder keg that is the WNBA.
    — Patricia Babcock McGraw OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of powder keg
Noun
  • 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
Definition of flash point

Browse Nearby Words

thin-skinned
third rail
third rails
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Third rail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/third%20rail. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on third rail

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about third rail

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