domino effect

American

noun

the cumulative effect that results when one event precipitates a series of like events.

domino effect British

noun

a series of similar or related events occurring as a direct and inevitable result of one initial event

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of domino effect

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There are all these things that are a domino effect that you cannot predict.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

The latest blackout was due to an outage in a generating unit at one of the country's eight thermoelectric plants, triggering a domino effect in the system, according to authorities.

From Barron's • Mar. 22, 2026

There is also a domino effect to estrangements.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

Tricolor Holdings filed for bankruptcy in September, coming under a cloud of suspicion about its business practices and sparking fears of a domino effect on banks.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 17, 2025

If just one of them moved, I thought, the domino effect could engulf the three of us in an asphyxiating mass of literature.

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023