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If you describe a situation or activity as an accident waiting to happen, you mean that they are likely to be a cause of danger in the future. A lot of the city's buildings are accidents waiting to happen.
AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN definition: 1. a very dangerous situation in which an accident is very likely 2. a very dangerous situation in…. Learn more.
High quality example sentences with “waiting to happen” in context from reliable sources - Ludwig is the linguistic search engine that helps you to write better in English.
Meaning of Idiom ‘An Accident Waiting to Happen’. An accident waiting to happen is a dangerous situation that is certain to cause an accident or cause something to go wrong. This expression usually refers to negligence, carelessness, bad planning, wrong procedures, etc. 1 2.
If you describe a person as an accident waiting to happen, you mean that they are likely to cause trouble or have bad problems. He was getting a reputation for being wild — an accident waiting to happen.
“Happen” is the verb we often use with “accident.” You might say, “An accident happened on the way to work—I spilled my coffee all over my pants in the car.” With the expression, “accident waiting to happen,” we turn that around. And we use this expression to describe a dangerous or risky situation.
If you describe something or someone as an accident waiting to happen, you mean that they are likely to be a cause of danger in the future, for example because they are in poor condition or behave in an unpredictable way. A lot of the city's buildings are accidents waiting to happen. See full dictionary entry for accident.
