Jump to:

• sword of Damocles
  sword of Damocles

  noun

  any situation threatening imminent harm or disaster.
• Sword of Damocles
  Sword of Damocles

  noun

  a closely impending disaster

sword of Damocles

American  

noun

1. any situation threatening imminent harm or disaster.

---

Sword of Damocles British  

noun

1. a closely impending disaster

---

sword of Damocles Idioms  

1. Also, Damocles' sword. Impending disaster, as in The likelihood of lay-offs has been a sword of Damocles over the department for months. This expression alludes to the legend of Damocles, a servile courtier to King Dionysius I of Syracuse. The king, weary of Damocles' obsequious flattery, invited him to a banquet and seated him under a sword hung by a single hair, so as to point out to him the precariousness of his position. The idiom was first recorded in 1747. The same story gave rise to the expression hang by a thread.

---

Etymology

Origin of sword of Damocles

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

Companies hope the trade disputes will settle down, but tariffs hang over the economy like the Sword of Damocles.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 16, 2025

Bar charges remained a Sword of Damocles over my head for ten years before they were also dismissed.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2025

Because that conviction hangs over her head like the Sword of Damocles — making it hard to get on with her life and always, somehow, bringing more instability and pain to her, and to Summer.

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2022

She said: "Now, users can carry out their work without a Sword of Damocles hanging over them, and we can ensure that valuable ways are saved."

From BBC • Feb. 17, 2022

Sir Arthur Pinero's play, The Profligate, was written at a time when it was the fashion to give each act a sub-title; and one of its acts is headed "The Sword of Damocles."

From Play-Making A Manual of Craftsmanship by Archer, William