warrant

to issue a warrant for the arrest of someone. The police put out a warrant on Max. We sent out a warrant on Lefty "Fingers" Moran at the same time.

Fig. to do something (knowingly) that will most likely result in severe trouble. (As if one were ordering one's own execution.) I wouldn't ever gamble a large sum of money. That would be signing my own death warrant. The killer signed his own death warrant when he walked into the police station and gave himself up.

to do something which will stop you from being successful The company signed its own death warrant by choosing to remain independent rather than going into partnership.

Bring about one's own downfall, do oneself irreparable harm, as in In taking his secretary to a risqué nightclub, the parish priest was signing his own death warrant . This expression may refer to acts that ensure someone's later murder, as when, in 1921, the Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins signed the peace treaty he had negotiated with England and said, "I tell you, I have signed my death warrant." Thirteen months later Collins was assassinated by political opponents. The expression is also used hyperbolically, however, for severe repercussions or punishments. [First half of 1900s] Also see shoot oneself in the foot.