false alarm
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A warning or signal that proves to be unnecessary or incorrect
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
cảnh báo hoặc tín hiệu không cần thiết hoặc sai
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: a false warning signal
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The fire alarm turned out to be a false alarm
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “false alarm” mean?
A warning or signal that proves to be unnecessary or incorrect Literally: a false warning signal
Is “false alarm” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.