raise the alarm



raise the alarm

1. Literally, to activate an alarm. I think I see smoke coming from the warehouse. Someone run upstairs and raise the alarm!
2. To alert other people about something dangerous, risky, or troublesome. A number of top economic advisors tried to raise the alarm before the economic crash, but no policy makers seemed to heed their warnings.
See also: alarm, raise

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Bowles[bəulz]
Hidde-Frisian
ĐUraĐJOOR-ahjSerbian, Croatian (Archaic)
MarjaMAHR-yahDutch, Finnish
Cristianokree-STYAH-no (Italian), kreesh-TYA-noo (Portuguese)Italian, Portuguese
Pero-Serbian, Croatian