false alarm

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word false alarm. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word false alarm, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say false alarm in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word false alarm you have here. The definition of the word false alarm will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition offalse alarm, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Pronunciation

Noun

false alarm (plural false alarms)

  1. (literal) A warning signal (such as the call of sentry, the ringing of a bell, or the shriek of a siren) which turns out to have been given erroneously.
    • 1895, G. A. Henty, chapter 9, in Wulf the Saxon:
      "Then, if they rise, shout the alarm at the top of your voice but be careful not to rouse the camp by a false alarm, for if you do, instead of gaining credit we shall become the jest of the whole force."
    • 2013 February 25, David Epstein, “Pistorius: The Man, The Myth”, in Sports Illustrated, retrieved 18 April 2015:
      Pistorius explained that a security alarm in his house had gone off the previous night, and that he had taken a gun downstairs to investigate what turned out to be a false alarm.
  2. (idiomatic, by extension) A thing or occurrence which initially causes fear, distress, etc. but which is subsequently recognized as being no cause for concern.
  3. (archaic, idiomatic) A person who pretends to be more accomplished or a thing that seems to be of higher quality than is later found to be the case.
    Antonym: real deal
    • 1911, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 22, in Mavericks:
      "I don't believe you're a bank robber, at all! I don't believe you are even a rustler! You're a false alarm!"
    • 1912, G. Harvey Ralphson, chapter 2, in Boy Scouts in a Submarine:
      "He's an old false alarm, anyway. I'll bet he never heard a real gun go off!"
    • 1913, Rex Ellingwood Beach, chapter 5, in The Iron Trail:
      "I had a good job, putting in a power plant for his nibs"—he indicated the retreating Gordon with a disrespectful jerk of the thumb—"but I quit Do you think I'd work for this four-flusher if you were in the country?"
      "You think Gordon is a false alarm?"
    • 1921, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 4, in Jill the Reckless:
      "I only came over here to see that darned false alarm of a play of mine put on."

Translations

See also

Further reading