Meaning & use
Time Bomb
Last updated
A bomb designed to explode at a preset time; figuratively, a situation or problem that is likely to cause serious trouble in the future.
See it in a sentence
Engineers were called in to defuse the time bomb hidden beneath the bridge.
Analysts warned that unchecked national debt was becoming a economic time bomb.
A note on using this word
The figurative use, describing a looming crisis rather than an actual explosive, has become the word's most common sense in everyday speech.
Words with a similar meaning
ticking bomb
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