Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for time bomb. Search instead for the+bomb.
Synonyms

time bomb

American  

noun

  1. a bomb constructed so as to explode at a certain time.

  2. a situation, condition, etc., resembling such a bomb in having disastrous consequences in the future.

time bomb British  

noun

  1. a bomb containing a timing mechanism that determines the time at which it will detonate

  2. 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
time bomb Idioms  

  1. 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]

Etymology

Origin of time bomb

First recorded in 1890–95

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

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