third rail

noun

Definition of third railnext
as in hot button

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of third rail The substations’ main function is to convert raw, high-voltage electricity from the electrical grid into lower-voltage power that can be delivered to the third rail. — New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026 In early February, a Chow Chow named Meatball broke free from his owner at Bowling Green, fell onto the subway tracks, hit the third rail, and died. — Rachel Sugar, Curbed, 8 Apr. 2026 EMUs are faster and can often carry more people, but require overhead catenary lines or a third rail, while the battery electric locomotives can be used on non-electrified track by charging their batteries, reducing the infrastructure investment. — State House News Service, Boston Herald, 1 May 2026 Disregarding the out-of-joint 2021 Finals, which were bumped up to July by the pandemic, Saturday has been a third rail for the NBA for the better part of the last 45 years. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 20 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for third rail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for third rail
  1. hot button
  2. time bomb
  3. powder keg
  4. flash point
Noun
  • Harrington’s first comments as mayor stayed light and forward-looking without delving into the city’s hot button issues.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 1 July 2026
  • The case became a hot button issue at the time amid a rash of disappearances and murders of Black women and girls in the Midwest state.
    — Michael Loria, USA Today, 30 June 2026
Definition of hot button
Noun
  • The sobering Social Security and Medicare reports clearly show that a fiscal time bomb is ticking.
    — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 11 June 2026
  • That is a real fiscal time bomb that could set off generational warfare in Washington.
    — Editorial, Boston Herald, 24 May 2026
Definition of time bomb
Noun
  • However, internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI’s ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 17 June 2026
  • The scene isn’t just a powder keg of tension that leads to frenzied bedlam; its cynical depiction of human self-preservation is far more terrifying than any horror movie monster.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 15 June 2026
Definition of powder keg
Noun
  • Shakespeare’s haughty Roman war hero, revered on the battlefield yet reviled by hungry plebeians, becomes the flash point in a young democracy tearing itself apart over power and sacrifice.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • The protests became a flash point, sparking similar incidents in several other cities in Tennessee and at least one in Florida.
    — Rachel Tepper Paley, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026
Definition of flash point

Browse Nearby Words

thin-skinned
third rail
third rails
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Third rail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/third%20rail. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on third rail

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about third rail

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All