emergency cord

American  

[i-mur-juhn-see kawrd] / ɪˈmɜr dʒən si ˈkɔrd /

noun

plural

emergency cords

1. a cord in a public transit vehicle that passengers can pull to alert the driver or stop the vehicle in an emergency.

2. any cord that can be pulled in an extreme or dangerous situation to call for help, disengage a mechanism, or otherwise make a situation safer.

3. a way to get out of or reduce the impact of a difficult situation.

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Example Sentences

Railway officials said the passengers got down from the Mumbai-bound train in western Maharashtra state after someone pulled the emergency cord, causing it to stop.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2025

It still takes monthly re-upping, for one thing, and for another, there’s a risk in pulling the emergency cord too much.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 20, 2022

It’s difficult to read about the opportunity for escape offered by the train’s emergency cord without thinking of another thread running through Plath’s life.

From The Guardian • Oct. 26, 2018

Or the red thread marking a flight path in 1945 comes back as the emergency cord dangling from the ceiling of the retirement home Teddy has moved to in 1993.

From Slate • May 8, 2015

From the other end of the car, I heard the porter shout and I looked up to see him yanking the emergency cord that run along the baggage rail.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson