airburst

noun

air·​burst ˈer-ˌbərst How to pronounce airburst (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Lunsford noted that a particularly large meteor that some scientists believe to be associated with the annual shower detonated in a powerful airburst 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) over Russian Siberia in June 1908. Anthony Wood, Space.com, 27 June 2025 Its retraction shows that scientific conclusions aren’t decided by majority rule in the public square In 2021 a multidisciplinary team of researchers claimed that a Tunguska-sized airburst, larger than any such airburst in human history, destroyed a Bronze Age city near the Dead Sea. Mark Boslough, Scientific American, 25 June 2025 However, the most likely outcome would be a high-altitude airburst. Kristan Hawkins, Newsweek, 6 Feb. 2025 The asteroid is estimated to be traveling at about 17 km (10.5 miles) per second, which would create a large airburst and shock wave in the atmosphere. Michael Irving, New Atlas, 19 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for airburst

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of airburst was in 1914

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Airburst.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airburst. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on airburst

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!