A time bomb is a bomb with a mechanism that causes it to explode at a particular time.
2. countable noun [oft adjective NOUN]
If you describe something as a time bomb, you mean that it is likely to have a serious effect on a person or situation at a later date, especially if you think it will cause a lot of damage.
This proposal is a political time bomb that could cost the government the next election.
Unemployment is building up into a social time bomb across the industrialised world.
time bomb in British English
or timebomb (ˈtaɪmˌbɒm)
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
time bomb in American English
1.
an explosive device connected to a timer that will set it off at a given moment
2.
any potentially destructive state of affairs
Examples of 'time bomb' in a sentence
time bomb
The time bomb deposited, I creep over to the sofa and watch my wife sleep.
Alex George LOVE YOU MADLY (2002)
Faced with this new threat, this time bomb ticking in my trousers, I know that I must do something.
Alex George LOVE YOU MADLY (2002)
It lay there, inert under his jacket sleeve, throbbing gently like a time bomb.
Meek, M R D IN REMEMBRANCE OF ROSE (2002)
I've been waiting all my life to find what I've got with Eddie and when it finally arrives, I'm a walking time bomb.
Pearl Cleage WHAT LOOKS LIKE CRAZY ON AN ORDINARY DAY (2002)
Word lists with
time bomb
bomb
In other languages
time bomb
British English: time bomb /taɪm bɒm/ NOUN
A time bomb is a bomb with a mechanism that causes it to explode at a particular time.