third rail

noun

Definition of third railnext
as in hot button

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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 That is part of why K-12 schools have long been treated like a third rail. — Karl Mawhinney, Forbes.com, 22 July 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 That train also hit debris — potentially a loose section of the third rail, sources told The News. — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2026 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 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
  • Genre provides story tension at a time of general market downturn where series, whatever their hot button issues, must never forget to entertain.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
  • The conflict has also become a hot button topic at Venice, with activists calling on the festival to raise the Palestinian flag in recognition of the Palestinian directors in selection.
    — Nada Aboul Kheir, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of hot button
Noun
  • These privileged few will be sitting on a time bomb of their own making, similar to that faced by political and economic elites during the waning years of the Ming dynasty.
    — Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026
  • In Europe, multiethnic capitals are pilloried by the far right as demographic time bombs, ground zero for invasions of unwanted foreigners.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of time bomb
Noun
  • The civil unrest is a result of a years-long powder keg waiting to explode.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The proof ignited a powder keg of concern over artificial intelligence companies’ race to disrupt the subject.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of powder keg
Noun
  • Voting by mail has been a flash point since the 2020 presidential election when Philadelphia and Pennsylvania sat at the center of controversy.
    — Heather LaMarre, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
  • James’s appointment has become the latest flash point in the swelling controversy over the 2024 incident and its handling by officials.
    — Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of flash point

Browse Nearby Words

thin-skinned
third rail
third rails
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Cite this Entry

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

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More from Merriam-Webster on third rail

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about third rail

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