# domino effect

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. The situation in which one event sets off a chain of additional events.
2. 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.

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

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/domino-effect