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bomb Definition

bomb (bäm)

noun

  1. a container filled with an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical for dropping or hurling, or for detonating by a timing mechanism
  2. bombshell (sense )
  3. a small container with compressed gas in it an aerosol bomb
  4. a heavily shielded apparatus with radioactive material in it, used in radiotherapy a cobalt bomb
  5. Informal a complete failure: said esp. of a theatrical performance
  6. Geol. a mass of lava, usually globular, ejected from a volcano by explosion
  7. Football, Slang a long forward pass

Etymology: Fr bombe < It bomba; prob. < L bombus, a buzzing < Gr bombos, deep and hollow sound: orig. echoic

transitive verb

to attack, damage, or destroy with a bomb or bombs

intransitive verb

Informal to be a complete failure

bomb Idioms

the Bomb

Informal
  1. atomic bomb
    1. any nuclear weapon
    2. nuclear weapons collectively
bomb Synonyms

bomb

n.

weapon, missile, high explosive, charge, bombshell, grenade; see also explosive, mine 2, nuclear bomb, shell 2.

Types of bombs include: incendiary, multiple warhead, nuclear warhead, magnesium, high explosive, demolition, glider, jet-propulsion, time, letter, pipe, smart, plastic, six-ton, chain detonation, smoke, delayed-action, cyanide, parachute, antipersonnel bomb; atom(ic) bomb or A-bomb, cobalt bomb or C-bomb, hydrogen bomb or H-bomb, neutron bomb, napalm bomb, rack of bombs, cluster bomb unit or CBU, salvo of bombs, torpedo, depth charge, cherry bomb, hand grenade; blockbuster*, ash can*, pineapple*, potato masher*, Molotov cocktail*, stink bomb*.

bomb Synonyms

bomb

v.

shell, bombard, torpedo, napalm, blow up, wipe out, subject to bombing runs, blast, attack from the air, zero in on*, rain destruction, raid, dive-bomb, skip-bomb, mass-bomb, precision-bomb, lay an egg*; see also attack 1, destroy 1.

bomb Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • detonate: Who took the decision to detonate a bomb at the War Memorial in Enniskillen on Remembrance Sunday?
  • explode: As many as 10 bombs exploded in the city in what appear to be closely coordinated terrorist attacks.
  • defuse: Even some experts believe the normal cycle of machine and software upgrading over the next three years will defuse the time bomb.
  • drop: A bomber dropped a single bomb on a parade field in the capital, without loss of life.

Adjective modifier

  • atomic: Only three days later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
  • incendiary: At the height of these attacks, 100,000 incendiary bombs were dropped on the City of London in one night.
  • unexploded: Colin finds an unexploded bomb in the Leisure Center.
  • dirty: There was no chaos, riots, dirty bombs, clashes.
  • nuclear: Iran's several nuclear bombs can inflict more damage on America than the World War II.

Modifies a noun

  • blast: They are still in shock and in fact their wives and children were in town at the time of the bomb blast.
  • aimer: There was also room for a prone position bomb aimer and the aircraft had bomb racks for use as a dive bomber.
  • scare: Bomb scares in the Dublin area meant the earlier tour went to Sligo, the only route available pending the all clear.
  • explosion: His third son was seriously injured by an IRA bomb explosion at Kings Cross.
  • disposal: By 20 September 1940 there were Naval bomb disposal teams at 27 shore establishments.

Noun used with modifier

  • cluster: Cluster bombs were used by NATO forces during the bombing campaign.
  • roadside: Between 2004 and 2005 the number of car and roadside bombs doubled, and suicide bombs trebled.
  • IRA: Ten days later, three IRA car bomb attacks in the village of Claudy left six dead.
  • gasoline: The footage also showed a Warrior tank being hit by home-made gasoline bombs hurled by people in the crowd.
  • atom: It intends to use the method on 300,000 gallons of liquid waste from atom bomb tests in the 1940s.
  • suicide: Between 2004 and 2005 the number of car and roadside bombs doubled, and suicide bombs trebled.
bomb Quotes

The Frenchwant to attack, the Americans want to bomb, and the British want to have another meeting.

—Anonymous

Ban the Bomb.

—Anonymous

The Bomb brought peace, but man alone can keep that peace.

—Churchill, Lord Randolph Henry Spencer

We're going faster and lower than anything out there. And we can bomb the knot off a tree.

—Jensen, Albert D

One has to look out for engineersöthey begin with sewing machines and end up with the atomic bomb.

—Pagnol, Marcel

Dr Bloodmoney,Or How We Got Along AfterThe Bomb.

—Dick, Philip K(indred)

If this can be termed the century of the common man, then soccer, of all sports, is surely his game† In a world haunted by thehydrogenand napalm bomb, thefootball field is a place where sanity and hope are still left unmolested.

—Rous, Sir Stanley

Long after the bomb falls and you and your good deeds are gone, cockroaches will still be here, prowling the streets like armoured cars.

—Janowitz,Tama

The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces upon us the manufacture of the hydrogen bomb.We do not choose our problems, we do not choose our products; we are pushed, we are forcedöby what? Bya system which has no purpose and goal transcending it, and which makes man its appendix.

—Fromm, Erich

When you see something that is technically sweet, you goahead and doitand youargueabout whatto doabout it onlyafter you have had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb.

—Oppenheimer,J(ulius) Robert

   How few the days are that hold the mind in place; like a tapestry hanging on four or five hooks. Especially the day you stop becoming; the day you merelyare. I suppose it's when the principles dissolve, and instead of the general gray of what ought to be you begin to see what is† The word 'Now' is like a bomb through the window, and it ticks.

—Miller, Arthur

Browse dictionary entries near bomb

  1. Bolzano
  2. bolus
  3. Boltzmann constant
  4. boltrope
  5. boltonia
  6. Bolton
  7. bolter
  8. bolt-hole
  9. bolt
  10. bolster
  1. bomb bay
  2. bombé
  3. bombard
  4. bombardier
  5. bombardier beetle
  6. bombardment
  7. bombardon
  8. bombast
  9. bombastic
  10. bombax