false alarmnoun [ C ]
uk/ˌfɒls əˈlɑːm/us/ˌfɑːls əˈlɑːrm/an occasion when people wrongly believe that something dangerous or unpleasant is happening or will happen:
Three fire engines rushed to the school only to discover it was a false alarm.
She thought she was pregnant, but it turned out to be a false alarm (= she was not).
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Threats & warnings
- (I) told you (so)! idiom
- (just) you wait idiom
- bell
- cautionary tale
- do you want to make something/anything of it? idiom
- early warning system
- emergency cord
- fire a (warning) shot across sb's bow idiom
- forewarn
- heads-up
- notice
- ring/sound alarm bells idiom
- siren
- slap
- sound
- tip
- tip sb off
- wake-up call
- warning
- warning/alarm bells start to ring/sound idiom
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Faults and mistakes