idle threat

noun

A threat made by a person who does not mean to carry it out, and which perhaps shouldn't be taken seriously by others.

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Meanings

nounidle threat (plural idle threats)

plural idle threats

  1. A threat made by a person who does not mean to carry it out, and which perhaps shouldn't be taken seriously by others.

    Without any injection of money, Transport for London has said the project could be mothballed. This may not be an idle threat, given the future decline expected in London and South East commuting.

    2020 December 2, Industry Insider, “The costs of cutting carbon”, in Rail, page 76
Cite this entry
APA

idle threat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idle%20threat

MLA

“idle threat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idle%20threat. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “idle threat,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idle%20threat.

Source: idle threat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.