powder keg

noun

1

: a small usually metal cask for holding gunpowder or blasting powder

2

: something liable to explode

Synonyms

• flash point
• time bomb
• tinderbox
• volcano

Examples of powder keg in a Sentence

Political instability has made the region a powder keg.

the immigration bill has become a political powder keg for legislators on both sides of the aisle

Recent Examples on the Web

The switcheroo went off like a powder keg at City Hall, with officials rushing toward damage control. —Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2025

But internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI’s ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2025

Ambiguity kept this powder keg from exploding. AMBIGUITY’S FADING BENEFITS Maintaining this policy of ambiguity, however, will not keep the peace in the Taiwan Strait for the next four decades. —Richard Haass, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2020

By the time Canada skated against the United States in the group game in Montreal, the atmosphere was akin to a powder keg. —Don Riddell, CNN, 9 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for powder keg

• beg
• clegg
• egg
• leg
• legg
• meg
• peg
• reg
• blackleg
• bootleg
• foreleg
• mpeg