airburst

noun

air·​burst ˈer-ˌbərst 

variants or air burst

: the burst of a shell or bomb in the air

Examples of airburst in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The airburst arrived almost a minute and a half after the tremor. — Charles Pellegrino, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2025

In the event of a swarm attack, this warhead can take it out with an airburst of shrapnel. — New Atlas, 13 Sep. 2025

However, the most likely outcome would be a high-altitude airburst. — Kristan Hawkins, Newsweek, 6 Feb. 2025

These could hold clues to future threats from space like airbursts and actual impacts into Earth's surface, according to researchers. — Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for airburst

• accursed
• amerced
• cloudburst
• coerced
• conversed
• disbursed
• dispersed
• headfirst
• immersed
• outburst
• rehearsed
• reversed