powder keg

SEE SYNONYMS FOR powder keg ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small, metal, barrellike container for gunpowder or blasting powder.
a potentially dangerous situation, especially one involving violent repercussions.

Origin of powder keg

First recorded in 1850–55

Words nearby powder keg

powder compact, powder down, powder flag, powder flask, powder horn, powder keg, powder magazine, powder metallurgy, powder method, powder mill, powder monkey

Example sentences from the Web for powder keg

  • Felipe followed him instantly to the storeroom where he kept his powder-keg, mining-tools, pack-saddles, and provisions.

    Lone Pine |R. B. (Richard Baxter) Townshend

  • It came out, too, how Billy Topsail had held the candle over the powder-keg.

    Billy Topsail & Company |Norman Duncan

  • Some time after Felipe's departure, Stephens went to his powder-keg and measured out three charges of blasting-powder.

    Lone Pine |R. B. (Richard Baxter) Townshend

British Dictionary definitions for powder keg

powder keg

noun

a small barrel used to hold gunpowder
informal a potential source or scene of violence, disaster, etc