national crisis

American  

[nash-uhn-uhl krahy-sis] / ˈnæʃ ən əl ˈkraɪ sɪs /

noun

national crises plural

1. a social or economic crisis, such as rising crime, political uprising, or a housing shortage, that affects a large portion of a nation or requires the resources and powers of a national government to address it.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• national crises
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

national crisis

Earnestness triggered our deepest national crisis in the 1860s and fueled the redemptive civil-rights movement a century later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

But if it were to happen, hello, national crisis!

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026

He said: "The department's debt is very large indeed and it is a debt which has been incurred through the supply of defective equipment at a time of national crisis."

From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2025

To that end, Mott announced that the president, rather than officers of inferior rank, could make the first call to deploy the militia in a national crisis.

From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2025

Stock prices and the dollar’s value dropped sharply as investors anticipated a national crisis.

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow