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Synonyms

emergency brake

American  

noun

  1. Also called parking brake.  a special brake used to prevent a motor vehicle from rolling after it has stopped or been parked.

  2. 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.

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

"The emergency brake downstream worked but clearly not the one on the cabin that was about to reach the the top of the hill," he told Italian media.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2025

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

The wheel bearing failed during that deceleration, she said, and Car 23 derailed, triggering the emergency brake.

From Washington Post • Feb. 23, 2023

Quickly, Leeman pulled the emergency brake, halting the train.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

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.