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
The report identified specific flash points, including cross-border water tensions, and said some countries could experience instability, including from straining food and energy systems.
—
Somini Sengupta, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
And nearly a third of these counties settled their races by just over a point, meaning real estate woes turned these counties into political flash points.
—Jasmine Cui, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2024
The move comes after Republican officials ramped up efforts to turn the 2021 order into a partisan flash point ahead of the 2024 election.
—Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 20 Jan. 2025
The plight of the Palestinians will serve as a flash point, a symbol of inequities in the prevailing international order and, in the eyes of many across the developing world, the unfinished work of decolonization.
—Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for flash point 
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Somini Sengupta, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
And nearly a third of these counties settled their races by just over a point, meaning real estate woes turned these counties into political flash points.
—Jasmine Cui, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2024
The move comes after Republican officials ramped up efforts to turn the 2021 order into a partisan flash point ahead of the 2024 election.
—Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 20 Jan. 2025
The plight of the Palestinians will serve as a flash point, a symbol of inequities in the prevailing international order and, in the eyes of many across the developing world, the unfinished work of decolonization.
—Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for flash point
Dictionary Entries Near flash point
Cite this Entry
“Flash point.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flash%20point. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.
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