bomb
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /bɒm/
ipa: /bɑm/
ipa: /bʌm/
ipa: /bɔm/
rhymes: -ɒm
homophone: balm (father-bother merger)
homophone: BOM
Forms: form: bombs
Etymology: From French bombe, from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus (“a booming sound”), from Ancient Greek βόμβος (bómbos, “booming, humming, buzzing”), imitative of the sound itself. Doublet of bombe. Compare boom.
Senses: examples: text: The size of the ground hole crater from the blast indicates it was a bomb.
ref: 2008, Sidney Gelb, Foreign Service Agent, page 629:
glosses: An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
examples: text: During the Cold War, everyone worried about the bomb sometimes.
glosses: An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
The atomic bomb.
raw_tags: with the
examples: text: If Alberta’s reserves are a carbon bomb, this global expansion of tar sands and oil shale exploitation amounts to an escalating emissions arms race, the unlocking of a subterranean cache of weapons of mass ecological destruction.
ref: 2014 April 25, Martin Lukacs, “Canada becoming launch-pad of a global tar sands and oil shale frenzy”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 190, number 20, page 13:
text: "The hard Brexiteers have built a bomb under the UK automotive industry and the EU have lit it," they said.
ref: 2018 June 6, “Brexit: EU advises businesses not to use British components because of Theresa May's plan to leave customs union”, in The Guardian:
text: Mr. Gaetz’s loyalty to Mr. Trump, and willingness to toss proverbial bombs in Washington’s corridors of power, has shown no bounds, at least in public.
ref: 2024 November 14, Linda Feldmann, Henry Gass, “Trump’s eye-popping Cabinet picks show his top priority: Loyalty”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
glosses: An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
Events or conditions that have a speedy destructive effect.
examples: text: And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air / Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there
ref: 1814, “The Star-Spangled Banner”, Francis Scott Key (lyrics), John Stafford Smith (music):
glosses: An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
A grenade, mortar shell, or artillery shell.
synonyms: bombshell
glosses: An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, especially, one dropped from an aircraft.
Ellipsis of bomb ship.
examples: text: The mineworkers are setting their bombs.
glosses: Any explosive charge.
examples: text: The children are playing with water bombs in the garden.
text: Activists threw paint bombs at the famous artwork.
glosses: A bag or balloon containing a substance such as water, flour, or paint, designed to burst and splatter.
examples: text: That turkey fryer is a bomb waiting to go off.
text: The gas leak tragically turned the house into a bomb.
glosses: Anything that is at risk of exploding (literally) or that has exploded.
examples: text: He just dropped a bomb.
glosses: A fart.
examples: text: box-office bomb
text: Projection problems plagued Countess’ London premiere on January 5, 1967, Jerry Epstein recalled, and it was perhaps an omen, for reaction by critics afterward was swift and immediate: The film was a bomb.
ref: 1997, Eric L. Flom, Chaplin in the Sound Era: An Analysis of the Seven Talkies, page 277:
text: The movie was a bomb and so was my next film, Balboa, in which I played a scheming real estate tycoon.
ref: 2010, Tony Curtis, Peter Golenbock, American Prince: My Autobiography, unnumbered page:
text: The movie was a bomb, but it put the band before an even larger audience.
ref: 2011, Elizabeth Barfoot Christian, Rock Brands: Selling Sound in a Media Saturated Culture, page 11:
glosses: A failure; an unpopular commercial product.
examples: text: Nowadays, an old bomb simply won’t pass the inspection.
ref: 2005 August 6, “Warm affection for a rust-bucket past”, in Sydney Morning Herald:
text: We′ve got the money and it just feels ridiculous to let you drive around in that old bomb.
ref: 2010, Rebecca James, Beautiful Malice, page 19:
text: After two weeks of driving it she knew the car was a bomb and she did not need anyone saying it to her. The only one allowed to pick on her car was her. Piece of crap car[…]
ref: 2011, Amarinda Jones, Seducing Celestine, page 49:
synonyms: lemon
rustbucket
glosses: A car in poor condition.
examples: text: make a bomb
text: cost a bomb
text: When Kiley presented Blackpool with the custom shotgun, he said, “This must′ve cost a bomb.”
ref: 2009, Matthew Vierling, The Blizzard, page 133:
text: 'You′ve already spent a bomb!'
'Not on it, Sal — under it. Presents!' As we eventually staggered up to bed, Sally said to me, 'I hope to God he's not been spending a bomb on presents, too.[…]'
ref: 2010, Liz Young, Fair Game, page 136:
text: The kids cost a bomb to feed, they eat all the time.
ref: 2011, Michael R. Häack, Passport: A Novel of International Intrigue, page 47:
text: 2011, Bibe, A Victim, page 38,
He had recently exchanged his old bike for a new, three speed racer, which cost a bomb and the weekly payment were becoming difficult, with the dangers of repossession.
synonyms: fortune
packet
pretty penny
glosses: A large amount of money.
examples: text: Our fabulous new crumpets have been selling like a bomb.
glosses: Something highly effective or attractive.
A success; the bomb.
glosses: Something highly effective or attractive.
A very attractive woman.
synonyms: bombshell
examples: text: It was an ordinary speech, until the president dropped a bomb: he would be retiring for medical reasons.
glosses: Something highly effective or attractive.
An action or statement that causes a strong reaction.
synonyms: bombshell
examples: text: Normally very controlled, he dropped the F-bomb and cursed the paparazzi.
glosses: Something highly effective or attractive.
An action or statement that causes a strong reaction.
An obscene word identified by its first letter.
synonyms: bombshell
topics: American-football
ball-games
football
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: Something highly effective or attractive.
A long forward pass.
topics: ball-games
games
hobbies
lifestyle
rugby
soccer
sports
glosses: Something highly effective or attractive.
A high kick that sends the ball relatively straight up so players can get under it before it comes down.
synonyms: garryowen
up and under
examples: text: With five seconds remaining, Smith received the inbounds pass and launched a bomb that dropped through the net to give his team an 80-79 victory.
ref: 2013, Brett L. Abrams, Raphael Mazzone, The Bullets, the Wizards, and Washington, DC, Basketball, page 163:
topics: ball-games
basketball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: Something highly effective or attractive.
A throw into the basket from a considerable distance.
examples: text: Give me two bucks, you take a puff and pass my bomb back / Suck up that dank like a Slurpee, the serious / Bomb will make a niggy go delirious like Eddie Murphy
ref: 1995, “I Got 5 on It”, in Operation Stackola, performed by Luniz:
glosses: Something highly effective or attractive.
A highly potent joint (cannabis cigarette).
examples: text: A bomb for this study is defined as one in which the deepening rate is the geostrophic equivalent of at least 12 mb in 12 h at 45ºN.
ref: 1980 October, Frederick Sanders with John R. Gyakum, “Synoptic-dynamic climatology of the 'bomb'”, in Monthly Weather Review, volume 108, number 10, page 1596:
glosses: A cyclone whose central pressure drops at an average rate of at least one millibar per hour for at least 24 hours.
examples: text: The process consisted in preparing the metal by metallothermic reduction of titanium tetrachloride with sodium metal in a steel bomb.
ref: 2008, François Cardarelli, Materials Handbook: A Concise Desktop Reference, page 276:
topics: chemistry
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: A heavy-walled container designed to permit chemical reactions under high pressure.
examples: text: a Pillar of Iron […] Which if you had ſtrucke […] it would make a great Bombe in the Chamber beneath.
ref: 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “II. Century.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC, paragraph 151, page 47:
glosses: A great booming noise; a hollow sound.
glosses: A woman’s breast.
topics: government
hobbies
lifestyle
martial-arts
military
politics
professional-wrestling
sports
war
wrestling
glosses: A professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted and then slammed back-first down to the mat.
glosses: A recreational drug ground up, wrapped, and swallowed.
examples: text: In clear contravention of the International Code of Conduct for Swimming Baths, a teenager had entered the pool by performing a bomb.
ref: 2016, Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons & Rob Gibbons, Alan Partridge: Nomad, page 45:
synonyms: cannonball
glosses: An act of jumping into water while keeping one's arms and legs tucked into the body, as in a squatting position, to maximize splashing.
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: A-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: acid bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: aerobomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: aerosol bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: Agwa bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: airbomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: antibomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: atom bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: atomic bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: baka bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: barrel bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bass bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bath bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: Batista bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: blackout bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombable
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb around
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb-ass
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb calorimeter
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb crater
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb cyclone
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb diggety
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb diggity
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb diggy
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb drop
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombee
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombie
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb it
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb ketch
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombless
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomblet
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomblike
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombline
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombload
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombmaker
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombmaking
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb material
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombogenesis
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombproof
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb rack
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombs away
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombshell
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb shelter
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb ship
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb shot
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombsies
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombsight
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb site
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombsite
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb squad
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb-thrower
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb thrower
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bomb vessel
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bombworthy
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: borer bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bouncing bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: box-office bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: breadcrust bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: bug bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: butter bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: butterfly bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: buzz-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: buzz bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: calorie bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: candlebomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: car-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: car bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: carpet-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: carpet bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: C-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: chemical bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: cherry bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: cherry-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: chocolate bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: clean bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: cluster bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: cluster F-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: cobalt bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: collar bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: da bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: dago bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: decompression bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: depth bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: dirty bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: doomsday bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: dot bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: dot-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: drop a bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: drop the bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: drop the f-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: drop the F-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: drop the H-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: dumb bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: earthquake bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: E-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: email bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: fax bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: F-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: f-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: firebomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: fission bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: flea bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: fly bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: flying bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: fork bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: fragmentation bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: fundraising bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: fusion bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: gamma bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: gay bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: glide bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: glitter bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: google-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: Google bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: googlebomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: graphite bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: greasebomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: gun-type bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: gut bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: gutbomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: H-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: hydrobomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: hydrogen bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: hyperbomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: implosion bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: ink bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: Irish car bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: iron bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: isomer bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: Jäger bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: Jägerbomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: lava bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: lazy dog bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: L-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: letter bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: liquid bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: logic bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: look like a bomb has hit it
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: love-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: love bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: mail bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: meteorological bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: microbomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: Mills bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: money bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: mother bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: nail bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: n-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: N-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: neutron bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: nuclear bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: paper bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: parabomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: parcel bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: paste bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: petrol bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: photobomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: photoflash bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: pipe bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: plutonium bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: powerbomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: prata bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: pressure bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: pressure cooker bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: pumpkin bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: radiological bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: rain bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: rainbow bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: review bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: roach bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: roadside bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: robomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: sake bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: salted bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: satchel bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: S-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: s-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: seal bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: seismic bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: senton bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: sex bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: smart bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: smoke bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: snow bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: SOFAR bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: sofar bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: soft bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: speed bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: spray bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: steak bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: stench bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: sticky bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: stinkbomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: stink bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: stink-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: sugar bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: suicide bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: tarbomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: terror-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: terrorbomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: terror bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: thermonuclear bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: thermos bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: ticking bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: ticking time bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: time bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: time-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: truck bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: trucker bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: truth bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: U-bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: umami bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: uranium bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: vacuum bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: Vietnamese time bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: volcanic bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: water bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: waterbomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: weather bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: XML bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: yarn bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: zero bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: zip bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: Zoom bomb
sense: Terms derived from bomb (noun)
word: Zoom-bomb
Related terms: lemon