five-alarm
Americanadjective
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of or relating to an extremely destructive or intense fire.
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of or relating to something that is remarkable or intense, especially of food that is very spicy.
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.
“Missing a monthly payment is a five-alarm fire” where something has to go deeply wrong in a person’s financial situation, he said.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026
Authorities declared a five-alarm fire -- the highest level -- as night fell.
From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025
"This order is a potential five-alarm fire for nonprofit organizations and the people and communities they serve," Diane Yentel, CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, said in a statement.
From Salon • Jan. 28, 2025
“And if people weren’t taking precautions in the past, which they should have been doing, this should be a five-alarm wake-up call for them.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2024
A five-alarm fire has broken out in the Parietal region.
From The Brain by Blade, Alexander
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.
