This week’s theme
Words from chemistry

This week’s words
litmus test
flashpoint
chain reaction
borax
boiling point

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(FLASH-point)

MEANING:

noun:
1. The point at which a situation turns critical, for example, resulting in violence.
2. A location or situation where conflict, violence, etc., flare up.
3. The lowest temperature at which a substance’s vapors ignite in the presence of an ignition source.

ETYMOLOGY:

From flash, of imitative origin + point, partly from Old French point and Latin punctum (point). Earliest documented use: 1878.

USAGE:

“Road funding has been a flashpoint in Gilmore during long arguments about a new bridge.”
David Crowe; Labor Fires First in Battle for Gilmore; Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Jan 28, 2022.

See more usage examples of flashpoint in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: