domino effect

English

Domino effect

Etymology

An allusion to a row of dominoes in which the fall of one leads to a cascade of falling pieces.

Noun

domino effect (plural domino effects)

1. The situation in which one event sets off a chain of additional events.
   • 2023 March 22, Philip Oltermann, “Switzerland’s national pride dealt heavy blow by the merger of its banking titans”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     While the move has, for now, calmed fears of a repeat of a 2008-style domino effect, the merger has left Switzerland with a new megabank on Paradeplatz square.

2. (politics, historical) The theory that, if South Vietnam became communist, it would be followed by Cambodia, Laos, additional Southeast Asian countries, other Asian countries, and likely even elsewhere.

   Synonym: domino theory

Translations

chain of events

• Arabic: تأثير الدومينو
• Armenian: դոմինոյի սկզբունք (dominoyi skzbunkʻ)
• Azerbaijani: domino effekti
• Basque: domino-efektu
• Bengali: ডমিনো ইফেক্ট (ḍominō iphekṭo)
• Catalan: efecte dòmino m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 骨牌效應 / 骨牌效应 (zh) (gǔpái xiàoyìng), 多米諾效應 / 多米诺效应 (duōmǐnuò xiàoyìng), 多米諾骨牌效應 / 多米诺骨牌效应 (duōmǐnuògǔpái xiàoyìng)

• Czech: dominový efekt (cs) m, domino efekt (cs) m
• Danish: dominoeffekt c
• Dutch: domino-effect (nl)
• Estonian: doominoefekt
• Finnish: dominoefekti (fi)
• French: effet domino (fr) m
• Galician: efecto dominó m
• Georgian: დომინოს ეფექტი (dominos epekṭi), დომინოს პრინციპი (dominos ṗrinciṗi)
• German: Dominoeffekt (de) m
• Greek: φαινόμενο ντόμινο n (fainómeno ntómino)
• Hebrew: אפקט הדומינו
• Hungarian: dominóhatás
• Indonesian: efek domino
• Italian: effetto domino m
• Japanese: ドミノ効果 (ドミノこうか, domino-kōka)
• Malay: kesan domino
• Norwegian: dominoeffekt
• Polish: efekt domina (pl) m
• Portuguese: efeito dominó (pt) m
• Romanian: efect domino n
• Russian: эффе́кт домино́ (ru) m (effékt dominó), принцип домино (ru) m (princip domino)
• Spanish: efecto dominó m
• Swedish: dominoeffekt (sv) c
• Turkish: domino etkisi (tr)
• Ukrainian: принцип доміно m (pryncyp domino)
• Uzbek: domino effekti
• Vietnamese: hiệu ứng domino

theory of encroaching communism

• Finnish: dominoteoria
• Georgian: დომინოს თეორია (dominos teoria)
• German: Dominoeffekt (de) m
• Greek: φαινόμενο ντόμινο n (fainómeno ntómino)
• Spanish: teoría del dominó f
• Turkish: domino kuramı

See also

• butterfly effect
• demonstration effect
• ripple effect
• slippery slope
• snowball effect

Further reading

• Domino effect on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Domino theory on Wikipedia.Wikipedia