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Definition of "flash point" [flash• point]

  • The lowest temperature at which the vapor of a combustible liquid can be made to ignite momentarily in air. (noun)
  • The point at which eruption into significant action, creation, or violence occurs: "The shootdown did not increase international tensions to the flash point” ( Seymour M. Hersh). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.