false alarm

A benign situation initially mistaken for an emergency. Mary thought she was going into labor, but it turned out to be a false alarm. When the smoke detectors started beeping, we thought the building was on fire, but it was just a false alarm caused by faulty wiring.

false alarm

A warning signal that is groundless, made either by mistake or as a deliberate deception. For example, The rumor that we were all going to get fired was just a false alarm, or Setting off a false alarm is a criminal offense. This expression, first recorded in 1579, today is often used for a report of a nonexistent fire.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
BarnabÁS	-	Hungarian
Harrietta	her-ee-ET-ə, har-ee-ET-ə	English (Rare)
Isingoma	-	Eastern African, Ganda
Swanhilde	-	German
Silva	-	Bulgarian, Slovene
Ljupcho	-	Macedonian