ripple effect

An analogy to the spreading ripples on a body of water after an object has struck the surface.

ripple effect (plural ripple effects)

1. The circumstance in which one event instigates an expansive set of other events.

   Defaults in America's mortgage lending businesses are causing a ripple effect through the major banks in other continents.

   • 2016, Liz Nugent, Lying In Wait, →ISBN, page 115:

     Whatever had happened to her, her behaviour had ripple effects that were still causing upset and grief nearly five years later.

   • 2022 February 22, Lananh Nguyen, Alan Rappeport, “Global Banks Poised for Turmoil as West Hits Russia With Sanctions”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Global banks are bracing for the ripple effects of harsh new financial and economic sanctions against Russia intended to hobble its economy and restrict its access to foreign capital.

   • 2025 May 28, Paul Clifton, “Project Brunel on the right line”, in RAIL, number 1036, page 31:

     "If these 35 miles of infrastructure aren't run effectively, the ripple effects are felt by customers as far afield as Swansea, Bristol, Penzance and Worcestershire," says GWR spokesman Dan Panes.

• butterfly effect
• domino effect
• knock-on effect