flash point
noun
1
: the lowest temperature at which vapors above a volatile combustible substance ignite in air when exposed to flame
2
: a point at which someone or something bursts suddenly into action or being
Examples of flash point in a Sentence
The city became a flash point as political tensions grew.
The situation reached a flash point when union leaders urged the workers to protest.
Recent Examples on the Web
Antarctica is another flash point.
—
Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 4 Mar. 2025
The report identified specific flash points, including cross-border water tensions, and said some countries could experience instability, including from straining food and energy systems.
—Somini Sengupta, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
The move comes after Republican officials ramped up efforts to turn the 2021 order into a partisan flash point ahead of the 2024 election.
—Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 20 Jan. 2025
The city has burned, after all, at various historical flash points — the Watts Riots, the 1992 Uprising, the sundry Malibu fires over the years — and the image has reinscribed itself upon us over and over, as in Ed Ruscha’s legendary 1968 painting The Los Angeles County Museum on Fire.
—Matthew Specktor, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flash point
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 4 Mar. 2025
The report identified specific flash points, including cross-border water tensions, and said some countries could experience instability, including from straining food and energy systems.
—Somini Sengupta, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
The move comes after Republican officials ramped up efforts to turn the 2021 order into a partisan flash point ahead of the 2024 election.
—Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 20 Jan. 2025
The city has burned, after all, at various historical flash points — the Watts Riots, the 1992 Uprising, the sundry Malibu fires over the years — and the image has reinscribed itself upon us over and over, as in Ed Ruscha’s legendary 1968 painting The Los Angeles County Museum on Fire.
—Matthew Specktor, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flash point
Cite this Entry
“Flash point.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flash%20point. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share