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time bomb

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR time bomb ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a bomb constructed so as to explode at a certain time.
a situation, condition, etc., resembling such a bomb in having disastrous consequences in the future.

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Nearby words

time after time, time and a half, time and motion study, time and tide wait for no man, time bill, time bomb, time capsule, time chart, time charter, time clock, time code

Origin of time bomb

First recorded in 1890–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for time bomb

  • "According to the time-bomb down below," repeated Mr. Conne, still sociably but with a keen, searching look.

    Tom Slade with the Colors|Percy K. Fitzhugh

British Dictionary definitions for time bomb

time bomb

noun

a bomb containing a timing mechanism that determines the time at which it will detonate
a situation which, if allowed to continue, will develop into a serious problem
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

Idioms and Phrases with time bomb

time bomb

A situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time, as in That departmental dispute is a time bomb just waiting to go off. This term alludes to an explosive device that is set to go off at a specific time. [First half of 1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.