sabre-rattling
A flamboyant display of military power as an implied threat that it might be usedA flamboyant display of military power as an implied threat that it might be used.
Meaning
2 senses(countable, idiomatic, uncountable)A flamboyant display of military power as an implied threat that it might be used.
Säbelrasseln
бряца́ние ору́жиемbrjacánije orúžijem
брязкоті́ння збро́єюbrjazkotínnja zbrójeju
(countable, figuratively, idiomatic, uncountable)Any threat, such as one company threatening another with a lawsuit.
Säbelrasseln
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From the early 20th century, when an officer would threaten to draw his sabre.From the early 20th century, when an officer would threaten to draw his sabre.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: sabre-rattlingsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.