false move
Americannoun
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a movement that may be interpreted as threatening.
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an act or action that can cause trouble or damage; mistake.
If the bus driver had made one false move, we would have skidded off the icy road.
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.
I can’t think about my job or how my body looks when I’m gripping the bar with all my strength, one false move away from hurtling to the mat.
From Slate • Mar. 11, 2023
And yet he knows: One false move would end all this.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 20, 2022
But be careful: One false move could let your opponents strike it rich.
From Washington Post • Nov. 2, 2022
Expect the exactitude required here — where a false move can completely ruin a project — to create some tense moments.
From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2022
One false move would’ve stopped any chances of a come up.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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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.