Idiom idiom
false alarm
Meaning
A thing or occurrence which initially causes fear, distress, etc. but which is subsequently recognized as being no cause for concern.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The smoke detector went off, but it was just a false alarm.”
“We rushed to the hospital because of the pain, but the doctor said it was a false alarm.”
“Although the sirens initially caused widespread panic throughout the city, authorities soon confirmed that the incident was merely a false alarm.”
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Last updated August 10, 2026