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
Authorities declared a five-alarm fire -- the highest level -- as night fell.
From Barron's
But those five-alarm warnings are still important and necessary, if only to maintain an historical record of dissent should we manage to emerge from this dark time with some shell of our nation intact.
From Salon
The Dodger bullpen is a five-alarm fire, an unmitigated disaster, a total catastrophe.
From Los Angeles Times
“Use whatever analogy you want to use — this is a five-alarm fire,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics’ infectious-disease committee.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
