emergency brake
Americannoun
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Also called parking brake. a special brake used to prevent a motor vehicle from rolling after it has stopped or been parked.
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any brake meant to stop a vehicle in an emergency.
Etymology
Origin of emergency brake
First recorded in 1895–1900
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.
Scientists sometimes describe methane reduction as an "emergency brake" for climate change because lowering methane levels could help slow warming within the next decade and potentially reduce the risk of climate tipping points.
From Science Daily ● May 10, 2026
Identifying these risks is a net gain to the world, not a disaster, not a reason to pull the emergency brake on AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
Doncic’s 45 points came from the wild array of skills he possesses — deep threes, drives where he pulled the emergency brake for a pull-up jumper and trips to the line thanks to his physicality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2025
Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison ordered the emergency brake on spending in a letter to cabinet colleagues earlier this week.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2024
She took out the wipes and began to rub down the emergency brake, then stopped.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
