sound the alarm

sound the alarm

1. Literally, to activate an alarm. I think I see smoke coming from the warehouse. Someone run upstairs and sound the alarm!
2. To alert other people about something dangerous, risky, or troublesome. A number of top economic advisors tried to sound the alarm before the economic crash, but no policy makers seemed to heed their warnings.
See also: alarm, sound
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • raise the alarm
  • upset
  • I don't want to alarm you, but
  • five
  • a false alarm
  • false alarm
  • go off
  • frighten the pants off (of) (one)
  • chase (someone or something) out of (some place)
  • chase out of some place Go to chase
References in classic literature
Miss Cornelia was always ready enough to sound the alarm where men were concerned.
Independent of parties in the national legislature itself, as often as the period of discussion arrived, the State legislatures, who will always be not only vigilant but suspicious and jealous guardians of the rights of the citizens against encroachments from the federal government, will constantly have their attention awake to the conduct of the national rulers, and will be ready enough, if any thing improper appears, to sound the alarm to the people, and not only to be the VOICE, but, if necessary, the ARM of their discontent.
The truth is, that this ultimate redress may be more confided in against unconstitutional acts of the federal than of the State legislatures, for this plain reason, that as every such act of the former will be an invasion of the rights of the latter, these will be ever ready to mark the innovation, to sound the alarm to the people, and to exert their local influence in effecting a change of federal representatives.
The interpreter made no answer, but went on to say, "There was no want of idle eyes, that see everything, to see Melisendra come down and mount, and word was brought to King Marsilio, who at once gave orders to sound the alarm; and see what a stir there is, and how the city is drowned with the sound of the bells pealing in the towers of all the mosques."
CHORUS Haste ye princes, sound the alarm! Men of Athens, arm ye, arm!
However, given the downgrade timing ahead of earnings, he added that he does not think "there's a reason to sound the alarm on the quarter." Oliver has a $112 price target on Citrix shares.
The Jewish Agency is right to sound the alarm regarding the rejection of Israel by liberal Jewish youth.
These can be used by residents to sound the alarm in case of a fire that isn't detected by one of the automatic alarms.
Several years after releasing his commercial breakthrough album "Stop All The World Now,'' the Bangor, Maine-native breaks his silence with his long-awaited third studio album "Sound the Alarm,'' another stunning collection of emotionally resonant, melody-minded pop-rock gems that has become synonymous with this gifted singer-songwriter.
Rating: 8/10 Booker T - Sound The Alarm FOUR-TIME Grammy award-winner Booker T Jones has gone back to his Stax roots for his tenth album, Sound The Alarm, but this time, he''''s also celebrating the younger generation.
Nancy Mahon, of the MAC Aids Fund, said: "HIV is a silent killer among women and now is the time to sound the alarm the risk is real."
It's a large black ball that as well as being a fire and smoke detector, uses either radar or infra-red to detect intruders and then summon emergency services, sound the alarm, take video pictures and give chase.
"But I realized after the genocide that there was more that I could and should have done to sound the alarm and rally support." Indeed.
Luc Montagnier, head of the Paris-based World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention and a codiscoverer of the AIDS virus, was the first to sound the alarm about HIV-SARS coinfection.