sword of Damocles

American

noun

any situation threatening imminent harm or disaster.

Sword of Damocles British

noun

a closely impending disaster

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sword of Damocles Idioms

Also, Damocles' sword. Impending disaster, as in The likelihood of lay-offs has been a sword of Damocles over the department for months. This expression alludes to the legend of Damocles, a servile courtier to King Dionysius I of Syracuse. The king, weary of Damocles' obsequious flattery, invited him to a banquet and seated him under a sword hung by a single hair, so as to point out to him the precariousness of his position. The idiom was first recorded in 1747. The same story gave rise to the expression hang by a thread.

Etymology

Origin of sword of Damocles

First recorded in 1810–20

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.

See Examples For:

sword of Damocles Sword of Damocles

The sword of Damocles didn’t descend, but its glint lit every meeting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

“The mere investigation and the threat of finding a violation are sufficient: ‘the value of a sword of Damocles is that it hangs—not that it drops’,” ABC wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

But even then, the rare earths situation could stay unresolved, “hanging like a sword of Damocles over many companies’ heads,” Gave says.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2025

He said many veterans now effectively had a "sword of Damocles hanging over them again".

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2025

The second week of January 1890, Jo writes to her sister, “It’s like a sword of Damocles forever hanging over our heads—I never really have a moment’s peace.”

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

Companies hope the trade disputes will settle down, but tariffs hang over the economy like the Sword of Damocles.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 16, 2025

Bar charges remained a Sword of Damocles over my head for ten years before they were also dismissed.

From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2025

Because that conviction hangs over her head like the Sword of Damocles — making it hard to get on with her life and always, somehow, bringing more instability and pain to her, and to Summer.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2022

She said: "Now, users can carry out their work without a Sword of Damocles hanging over them, and we can ensure that valuable ways are saved."

From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2022

Sir Arthur Pinero's play, The Profligate, was written at a time when it was the fashion to give each act a sub-title; and one of its acts is headed "The Sword of Damocles."

From Play-Making A Manual of Craftsmanship by William Archer

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023