"powder keg" meaning in English

See powder keg in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: En-au-powder keg.ogg [Australia] Forms: powder kegs [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} powder keg (plural powder kegs)
  1. A barrel containing gunpowder. Synonyms: tinderbox [figuratively], powderkeg Translations (barrel of gun powder): bolborategi (Basque), 火藥桶 (Chinese Mandarin), 火药桶 (huǒyàotǒng) (Chinese Mandarin), krudttønde [common-gender] (Danish), tønde krudt [common-gender] (Danish), ruutitynnyri (Finnish), poudrière [feminine] (French), Pulverfass [neuter] (German), puskaporos hordó (Hungarian), púðurtunna [feminine] (Icelandic), polveriera [feminine] (Italian), beczka prochu [feminine] (Polish), barril de pólvora (Portuguese), порохова́я бо́чка (poroxovája bóčka) [feminine] (Russian), polvorín [masculine] (Spanish), kruttunna [common-gender] (Swedish), бочка для пороху (bočka dlja poroxu) [feminine] (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-powder_keg-en-noun-~W46W6n0 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 82 18 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 77 23 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 78 22 Disambiguation of 'barrel of gun powder': 95 5
  2. (figuratively) An explosive or otherwise volatile situation. Tags: figuratively Translations (volatile situation): 火藥桶 (Chinese Mandarin), 火药桶 (huǒyàotǒng) (Chinese Mandarin), krudttønde [common-gender] (Danish), ruutitynnyri (Finnish), poudrière [feminine] (French), Pulverfass [neuter] (German), púðurtunna [feminine] (Icelandic), polveriera [feminine] (Italian), beczka prochu [feminine] (Polish), порохова́я бо́чка (poroxovája bóčka) [feminine] (Russian), polvorín (Spanish), krutdurk [common-gender] (Swedish), порохова́ бо́чка (poroxová bóčka) [feminine] (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-powder_keg-en-noun-hBrKaHvx Disambiguation of 'volatile situation': 2 98

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for powder keg meaning in English (5.8kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "powder kegs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
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  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "powder keg (plural powder kegs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
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            "Entry maintenance"
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            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A barrel containing gunpowder."
      ],
      "id": "en-powder_keg-en-noun-~W46W6n0",
      "links": [
        [
          "barrel",
          "barrel"
        ],
        [
          "gunpowder",
          "gunpowder"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "92 8",
          "tags": [
            "figuratively"
          ],
          "word": "tinderbox"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "92 8",
          "word": "powderkeg"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "eu",
          "lang": "Basque",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "word": "bolborategi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "word": "火藥桶"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "huǒyàotǒng",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "word": "火药桶"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "krudttønde"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "tønde krudt"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "word": "ruutitynnyri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "poudrière"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Pulverfass"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "word": "puskaporos hordó"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "púðurtunna"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "polveriera"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "beczka prochu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "word": "barril de pólvora"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "poroxovája bóčka",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "порохова́я бо́чка"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "polvorín"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "kruttunna"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "bočka dlja poroxu",
          "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "бочка для пороху"
        }
      ]
    },
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "powder keg of Europe (term describing the unstable state of the Balkans before World War I)",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An explosive or otherwise volatile situation."
      ],
      "id": "en-powder_keg-en-noun-hBrKaHvx",
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        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) An explosive or otherwise volatile situation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "word": "火藥桶"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "huǒyàotǒng",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "word": "火药桶"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "krudttønde"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "word": "ruutitynnyri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "poudrière"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Pulverfass"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "púðurtunna"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "polveriera"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "beczka prochu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "poroxovája bóčka",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "порохова́я бо́чка"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "word": "polvorín"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "krutdurk"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "poroxová bóčka",
          "sense": "volatile situation",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "порохова́ бо́чка"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-powder keg.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/88/En-au-powder_keg.ogg/En-au-powder_keg.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/En-au-powder_keg.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "powder keg"
  ],
  "word": "powder keg"
}
{
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    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English idioms",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
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    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys"
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  "forms": [
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      "expansion": "powder keg (plural powder kegs)",
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
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      "glosses": [
        "A barrel containing gunpowder."
      ],
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          "text": "powder keg of Europe (term describing the unstable state of the Balkans before World War I)",
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "eu",
      "lang": "Basque",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "word": "bolborategi"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "word": "火藥桶"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "huǒyàotǒng",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "word": "火药桶"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "krudttønde"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "tønde krudt"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "word": "ruutitynnyri"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "poudrière"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Pulverfass"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "word": "puskaporos hordó"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "púðurtunna"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "polveriera"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "beczka prochu"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "word": "barril de pólvora"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "poroxovája bóčka",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "порохова́я бо́чка"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "polvorín"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "kruttunna"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "bočka dlja poroxu",
      "sense": "barrel of gun powder",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "бочка для пороху"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "word": "火藥桶"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "huǒyàotǒng",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "word": "火药桶"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "krudttønde"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "word": "ruutitynnyri"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "poudrière"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Pulverfass"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "púðurtunna"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "polveriera"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "beczka prochu"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "poroxovája bóčka",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "порохова́я бо́чка"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "word": "polvorín"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "krutdurk"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "poroxová bóčka",
      "sense": "volatile situation",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "порохова́ бо́чка"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "powder keg"
  ],
  "word": "powder keg"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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