FALSE ALARM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does false alarm mean? 

• FALSE ALARM (noun)
  The noun FALSE ALARM has 1 sense:

1. a warning that is given about something that fails to occur

  Familiarity information: FALSE ALARM used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FALSE ALARM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A warning that is given about something that fails to occur

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("false alarm" is a kind of...):

warning (a message informing of danger)

 Context examples 

In most allergic reactions, however, it is responding to a false alarm.

(Allergy, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

When I cried out that it was a false alarm, she replaced it, glanced at the rocket, rushed from the room, and I have not seen her since.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Again there was a long silence, and I had begun to fear that it was a false alarm, when a stealthy step was heard upon the other side of the hut, and a moment later a metallic scraping and clinking.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I caught a glimpse of rushing figures, and a moment later the voice of Holmes from within assuring them that it was a false alarm.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)