domino effect
Definition
- Noun:
- A chain reaction where one event causes a series of similar events to follow: The term describes a situation in which one initial event triggers a sequence of related events, much like a single falling domino knocks over a line of others.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The bank's failure had a domino effect on the entire financial sector.
- A small mistake in the initial design caused a domino effect of problems in the final product.
Advanced Usage
- "to set off/trigger a domino effect": to cause a chain reaction to begin.
- The new policy could set off a domino effect of protests across the region.
- "the domino effect of [something]": describing the chain reaction caused by a specific thing.
- We are studying the domino effect of climate change on global agriculture.
Variants and Related Words
- Chain reaction (n): A series of events, each caused by the previous one.
- The power outage started a chain reaction that shut down the city's transportation.
- Cascade (n/verb): A process that happens in stages, with each stage causing the next. Often used similarly in technical or figurative contexts.
- The software bug caused a cascade of system failures.
Synonyms
- Chain reaction: A series of events where each event is the result of the one before.
- Snowball effect: A process that starts from an initial state of small significance and builds upon itself, becoming larger and more serious.
- Ripple effect: The continuing and spreading results of an event or action.
Related Phrases
- Knock-on effect (n, chiefly British English): An indirect or secondary effect; a consequence.
- The factory closure had a knock-on effect on local businesses.
Related Idioms
- It's like dominoes: Used to describe a situation where things are falling or failing in a connected sequence.
- First the manager quit, then his team left—it was like dominoes.
Noun
-
the consequence of one event setting off a chain of similar events (like a falling domino causing a whole row of upended dominos to fall)