"time bomb" meaning in English

See time bomb in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: time bombs [plural]
Etymology: Compound of time + bomb. Etymology templates: {{glossary|Compound}} Compound, {{com+|en|time|bomb|pos=noun}} Compound of time + bomb Head templates: {{en-noun}} time bomb (plural time bombs)
  1. A bomb that has a mechanism such that detonation can be preset to a particular time. Categories (topical): Time Translations (bomb with a timeout mechanism): tydbom (Afrikaans), قُنْبُلَةٌ مَوْقُوتَةٌ (qunbulatun mawqūtatun) [feminine] (Arabic), bomba de rellotgeria [feminine] (Catalan), 定時炸彈 (Chinese Mandarin), 定时炸弹 (dìngshízhàdàn) (Chinese Mandarin), 計時炸彈 (Chinese Mandarin), 计时炸弹 (jìshízhàdàn) (Chinese Mandarin), časovaná bomba [feminine] (Czech), tijdbom [feminine, masculine] (Dutch), aikapommi (Finnish), bombe à retardement [feminine] (French), bomba de reloxería [feminine] (Galician), Zeitbombe [feminine] (German), ωρολογιακή βόμβα (orologiakí vómva) [feminine] (Greek), időzített bomba (Hungarian), bom waktu (Indonesian), buama ama [masculine] (Irish), bomba a orologeria [feminine] (Italian), bomba a tempo [feminine] (Italian), 時限爆弾 (jigenbákudan) (alt: じげんばくだん) (Japanese), 시한폭탄 (sihanpoktan) (alt: 時限爆彈) (Korean), bom jangka (Malay), بمب ساعتی (bomb-e sâ'ati) (Persian), bomba zegarowa [feminine] (Polish), bomba-relógio [feminine] (Portuguese), бо́мба заме́дленного де́йствия (bómba zamédlennovo déjstvija) [feminine] (Russian), бо́мба с часовы́м механи́змом (bómba s časovým mexanízmom) [feminine] (Russian), bomba de relojería [feminine] (Spanish), tidsinställd bomb [common-gender] (Swedish), ระเบิดเวลา (Thai), saatli bomba (Turkish), бомба вповільненої дії (bomba vpovilʹnenoji diji) (Ukrainian), bom amser [feminine, masculine] (Welsh)
    Sense id: en-time_bomb-en-noun-7PwCVo~2 Disambiguation of Time: 32 33 35 Disambiguation of 'bomb with a timeout mechanism': 79 12 10
  2. (computing) A malicious program designed to perform a destructive action at a certain date or time. Categories (topical): Computing, Time Translations (computing: program designed to perform a destructive action at a certain date and/or time): aikapommi (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-time_bomb-en-noun-77fQPsu7 Disambiguation of Time: 32 33 35 Categories (other): Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Hungarian translations Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 13 48 39 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 13 48 38 Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences Disambiguation of 'computing: program designed to perform a destructive action at a certain date and/or time': 8 81 11
  3. (figuratively) A situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time. Tags: figuratively Categories (topical): Explosives, Plot devices, Time, Weapons Synonyms: ticking bomb, ticking time bomb Translations (situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time): tijdbom [feminine] (Dutch), aikapommi (Finnish), bombe à retardement [feminine] (French), bomba de reloxería [feminine] (Galician), időzített bomba (Hungarian), bomba a orologeria [feminine] (Italian), bomba a tempo [feminine] (Italian), bomba zegarowa [feminine] (Polish), bomba de relojería [feminine] (Spanish), tidsinställd bomb [common-gender] (Swedish), бомба вповільненої дії (bomba vpovilʹnenoji diji) [feminine] (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-time_bomb-en-noun-tF5TCWvF Disambiguation of Explosives: 21 31 48 Disambiguation of Plot devices: 4 16 81 Disambiguation of Time: 32 33 35 Disambiguation of Weapons: 18 30 52 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Afrikaans translations, Terms with Arabic translations, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Czech translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with Galician translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Indonesian translations, Terms with Irish translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Korean translations, Terms with Malay translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Persian translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Thai translations, Terms with Turkish translations, Terms with Ukrainian translations, Terms with Welsh translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 6 39 55 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 9 27 64 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 6 34 60 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 4 24 72 Disambiguation of Terms with Afrikaans translations: 10 24 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Arabic translations: 9 30 61 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 10 24 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Czech translations: 11 31 58 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 10 23 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 10 24 66 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 8 25 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Galician translations: 10 24 66 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 9 23 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Indonesian translations: 10 24 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Irish translations: 9 22 68 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 7 22 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 7 22 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Korean translations: 10 24 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Malay translations: 10 24 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 11 32 57 Disambiguation of Terms with Persian translations: 10 24 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 11 25 64 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 9 28 62 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 7 22 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 5 19 75 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 9 24 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Thai translations: 10 24 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Turkish translations: 9 24 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Ukrainian translations: 10 24 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Welsh translations: 9 23 68 Disambiguation of 'situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time': 4 7 89
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: timebomb, time-bomb Derived forms: Vietnamese time bomb Related terms: accident waiting to happen

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "39 28 32",
      "word": "Vietnamese time bomb"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "Compound"
      },
      "expansion": "Compound",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "time",
        "3": "bomb",
        "pos": "noun"
      },
      "expansion": "Compound of time + bomb",
      "name": "com+"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compound of time + bomb.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "time bombs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "time bomb (plural time bombs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "39 28 32",
      "word": "accident waiting to happen"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "32 33 35",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Time",
          "orig": "en:Time",
          "parents": [
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A bomb that has a mechanism such that detonation can be preset to a particular time."
      ],
      "id": "en-time_bomb-en-noun-7PwCVo~2",
      "links": [
        [
          "mechanism",
          "mechanism"
        ],
        [
          "detonation",
          "detonation"
        ],
        [
          "preset",
          "preset"
        ],
        [
          "time",
          "time"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "af",
          "lang": "Afrikaans",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "tydbom"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "qunbulatun mawqūtatun",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "قُنْبُلَةٌ مَوْقُوتَةٌ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba de rellotgeria"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "定時炸彈"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "dìngshízhàdàn",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "定时炸弹"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "計時炸彈"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "jìshízhàdàn",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "计时炸弹"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "časovaná bomba"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "tijdbom"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "aikapommi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bombe à retardement"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba de reloxería"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Zeitbombe"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "orologiakí vómva",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ωρολογιακή βόμβα"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "időzített bomba"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "bom waktu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "buama ama"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba a orologeria"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba a tempo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "alt": "じげんばくだん",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "jigenbákudan",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "時限爆弾"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "alt": "時限爆彈",
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "sihanpoktan",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "시한폭탄"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "bom jangka"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "fa",
          "lang": "Persian",
          "roman": "bomb-e sâ'ati",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "بمب ساعتی"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba zegarowa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba-relógio"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "bómba zamédlennovo déjstvija",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "бо́мба заме́дленного де́йствия"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "bómba s časovým mexanízmom",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "бо́мба с часовы́м механи́змом"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba de relojería"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "tidsinställd bomb"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "th",
          "lang": "Thai",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "ระเบิดเวลา"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "saatli bomba"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "bomba vpovilʹnenoji diji",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "word": "бомба вповільненої дії"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "79 12 10",
          "code": "cy",
          "lang": "Welsh",
          "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
          "tags": [
            "feminine",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "bom amser"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Computing",
          "orig": "en:Computing",
          "parents": [
            "Technology",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "13 48 39",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Greek translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "13 48 38",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "32 33 35",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Time",
          "orig": "en:Time",
          "parents": [
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1994, Peter G. Neumann, Computer-Related Risks, Addison-Wesley Professional, →ISBN:",
          "text": "Donald Gene Burleson was prosecuted on felony charges for planting a time bomb that, shortly after he was fired, deleted more than 168,000 brokerage records of USPA & IRA in Fort Worth, Texas.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A malicious program designed to perform a destructive action at a certain date or time."
      ],
      "id": "en-time_bomb-en-noun-77fQPsu7",
      "links": [
        [
          "computing",
          "computing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "malicious",
          "malicious"
        ],
        [
          "program",
          "program"
        ],
        [
          "destructive",
          "destructive"
        ],
        [
          "action",
          "action"
        ],
        [
          "date",
          "date"
        ],
        [
          "time",
          "time"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(computing) A malicious program designed to perform a destructive action at a certain date or time."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "computing",
        "engineering",
        "mathematics",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "sciences"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "8 81 11",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "computing: program designed to perform a destructive action at a certain date and/or time",
          "word": "aikapommi"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "6 39 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 27 64",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 34 60",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "4 24 72",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 24 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Afrikaans translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 30 61",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Arabic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 24 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Catalan translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 31 58",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Czech translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 23 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 24 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 25 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 24 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Galician translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 23 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 24 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Indonesian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 22 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Irish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "7 22 71",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "7 22 71",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 24 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Korean translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 24 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Malay translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 32 57",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 24 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Persian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 25 64",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 28 62",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "7 22 71",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 19 75",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 24 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 24 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Thai translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 24 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Turkish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 24 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Ukrainian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 23 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Welsh translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 31 48",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Explosives",
          "orig": "en:Explosives",
          "parents": [
            "Matter",
            "Weapons",
            "Chemistry",
            "Nature",
            "Hunting",
            "Military",
            "Tools",
            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Human activity",
            "Society",
            "Technology",
            "Fundamental",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "4 16 81",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Plot devices",
          "orig": "en:Plot devices",
          "parents": [
            "Fiction",
            "Narratology",
            "Artistic works",
            "Drama",
            "Literature",
            "Art",
            "Theater",
            "Culture",
            "Entertainment",
            "Writing",
            "Society",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Language",
            "All topics",
            "Human",
            "Communication",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "32 33 35",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Time",
          "orig": "en:Time",
          "parents": [
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "18 30 52",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Weapons",
          "orig": "en:Weapons",
          "parents": [
            "Hunting",
            "Military",
            "Tools",
            "Human activity",
            "Society",
            "Technology",
            "Human behaviour",
            "All topics",
            "Human",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2014 June 6, Françoise Fressoz, “France’s Ticking Time Bomb”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Even so, they managed to morph the recent European parliamentary elections into a time bomb and plant it under their country’s own future.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 May 31, Nigel Harris, “Comment: GBR now! We have no Plan B”, in RAIL, number 984, page 3:",
          "text": "Someone must explain to Sunak about the time bomb ticking beneath his £1,000 loafers.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 June 30, Marina Hyde, “The tide is coming in fast on Rishi Sunak – and it’s full of sewage”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "The pandemic preparation timebomb detonated to devastating effect; a number of other timebombs are on the shortest of fuses. The government has now reached a state of perfect vicious cycle, when the only thing worse than the things it does are all the things it didn’t get round to doing.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time."
      ],
      "id": "en-time_bomb-en-noun-tF5TCWvF",
      "links": [
        [
          "situation",
          "situation"
        ],
        [
          "disastrous",
          "disastrous"
        ],
        [
          "consequence",
          "consequence"
        ],
        [
          "future",
          "future"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) A situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "ticking bomb"
        },
        {
          "word": "ticking time bomb"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 7 89",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "tijdbom"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 7 89",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
          "word": "aikapommi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 7 89",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bombe à retardement"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 7 89",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba de reloxería"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 7 89",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
          "word": "időzített bomba"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 7 89",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba a orologeria"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 7 89",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba a tempo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 7 89",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba zegarowa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 7 89",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bomba de relojería"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 7 89",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "tidsinställd bomb"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 7 89",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "bomba vpovilʹnenoji diji",
          "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "бомба вповільненої дії"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "39 28 32",
      "word": "timebomb"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "39 28 32",
      "word": "time-bomb"
    }
  ],
  "word": "time bomb"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English compound nouns",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Afrikaans translations",
    "Terms with Arabic translations",
    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Czech translations",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with Galician translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Hungarian translations",
    "Terms with Indonesian translations",
    "Terms with Irish translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Korean translations",
    "Terms with Malay translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Persian translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Thai translations",
    "Terms with Turkish translations",
    "Terms with Ukrainian translations",
    "Terms with Welsh translations",
    "en:Explosives",
    "en:Plot devices",
    "en:Time",
    "en:Weapons"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Vietnamese time bomb"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "Compound"
      },
      "expansion": "Compound",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "time",
        "3": "bomb",
        "pos": "noun"
      },
      "expansion": "Compound of time + bomb",
      "name": "com+"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compound of time + bomb.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "time bombs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "time bomb (plural time bombs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "accident waiting to happen"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A bomb that has a mechanism such that detonation can be preset to a particular time."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "mechanism",
          "mechanism"
        ],
        [
          "detonation",
          "detonation"
        ],
        [
          "preset",
          "preset"
        ],
        [
          "time",
          "time"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "en:Computing"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1994, Peter G. Neumann, Computer-Related Risks, Addison-Wesley Professional, →ISBN:",
          "text": "Donald Gene Burleson was prosecuted on felony charges for planting a time bomb that, shortly after he was fired, deleted more than 168,000 brokerage records of USPA & IRA in Fort Worth, Texas.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A malicious program designed to perform a destructive action at a certain date or time."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "computing",
          "computing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "malicious",
          "malicious"
        ],
        [
          "program",
          "program"
        ],
        [
          "destructive",
          "destructive"
        ],
        [
          "action",
          "action"
        ],
        [
          "date",
          "date"
        ],
        [
          "time",
          "time"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(computing) A malicious program designed to perform a destructive action at a certain date or time."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "computing",
        "engineering",
        "mathematics",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "sciences"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2014 June 6, Françoise Fressoz, “France’s Ticking Time Bomb”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Even so, they managed to morph the recent European parliamentary elections into a time bomb and plant it under their country’s own future.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 May 31, Nigel Harris, “Comment: GBR now! We have no Plan B”, in RAIL, number 984, page 3:",
          "text": "Someone must explain to Sunak about the time bomb ticking beneath his £1,000 loafers.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 June 30, Marina Hyde, “The tide is coming in fast on Rishi Sunak – and it’s full of sewage”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "The pandemic preparation timebomb detonated to devastating effect; a number of other timebombs are on the shortest of fuses. The government has now reached a state of perfect vicious cycle, when the only thing worse than the things it does are all the things it didn’t get round to doing.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "situation",
          "situation"
        ],
        [
          "disastrous",
          "disastrous"
        ],
        [
          "consequence",
          "consequence"
        ],
        [
          "future",
          "future"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively) A situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "ticking bomb"
        },
        {
          "word": "ticking time bomb"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "timebomb"
    },
    {
      "word": "time-bomb"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "af",
      "lang": "Afrikaans",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "tydbom"
    },
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "qunbulatun mawqūtatun",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "قُنْبُلَةٌ مَوْقُوتَةٌ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba de rellotgeria"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "定時炸彈"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "dìngshízhàdàn",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "定时炸弹"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "計時炸彈"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "jìshízhàdàn",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "计时炸弹"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "časovaná bomba"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "tijdbom"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "aikapommi"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bombe à retardement"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba de reloxería"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Zeitbombe"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "orologiakí vómva",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ωρολογιακή βόμβα"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "időzített bomba"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "bom waktu"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "buama ama"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba a orologeria"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba a tempo"
    },
    {
      "alt": "じげんばくだん",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "jigenbákudan",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "時限爆弾"
    },
    {
      "alt": "時限爆彈",
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "sihanpoktan",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "시한폭탄"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "bom jangka"
    },
    {
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "bomb-e sâ'ati",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "بمب ساعتی"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba zegarowa"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba-relógio"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "bómba zamédlennovo déjstvija",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "бо́мба заме́дленного де́йствия"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "bómba s časovým mexanízmom",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "бо́мба с часовы́м механи́змом"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba de relojería"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "tidsinställd bomb"
    },
    {
      "code": "th",
      "lang": "Thai",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "ระเบิดเวลา"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "saatli bomba"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "bomba vpovilʹnenoji diji",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "word": "бомба вповільненої дії"
    },
    {
      "code": "cy",
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "sense": "bomb with a timeout mechanism",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "bom amser"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "computing: program designed to perform a destructive action at a certain date and/or time",
      "word": "aikapommi"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "tijdbom"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
      "word": "aikapommi"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bombe à retardement"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba de reloxería"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
      "word": "időzített bomba"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba a orologeria"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba a tempo"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba zegarowa"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bomba de relojería"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "tidsinställd bomb"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "bomba vpovilʹnenoji diji",
      "sense": "situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "бомба вповільненої дії"
    }
  ],
  "word": "time bomb"
}

Download raw JSONL data for time bomb meaning in English (10.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). 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.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.