Definition of DETONATION

Examples of detonation in a Sentence

there was a series of detonations around the base of the condemned building, causing it to come crashing down in a matter of minutes

Recent Examples on the Web Experts expect that this round of gifts could include more missile tests, a nuclear detonation, or even a conventional attack on South Korea. — Tim Fernholz, Quartz, "North Korea says it has an unpleasant “Christmas gift” for Trump," 3 Dec. 2019 Some explosions start with deflagration and rapidly accelerate to detonation, but researchers do not fully understand how this transition works. — Scientific American, "Budding Organs, Science on Blast(s), and Human-Robot Synchronicity: Science GIFs to Start Your Week," 4 Nov. 2019 That creates a shock wave that grows in strength until triggering a detonation. — Edd Gent, Science | AAAS, "Supernovae and chemical explosions have a lot in common, video reveals," 31 Oct. 2019 Just as people across America feared a bomb could go off at any second, there’s a feeling of impending detonation within this family. — Jerald Pierce, chicagotribune.com, "'Hope’ by Teatro Vista borrows from ’60s sitcoms but has weird moments of static," 11 Oct. 2019 So far, North Korea has claimed to have carried out six nuclear-weapons tests, including the detonation of two supposed hydrogen bombs in the past three years. — Brian Dillon, The New Yorker, "Anna Lim’s Vision of Nuclear Anxiety in South Korea," 1 Dec. 2019 The term was first used in 1946 to refer to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, the sites of nuclear detonations in World War II. — Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, "The English language always has your number," 19 Oct. 2019 Leggett said most of those killed in the operation were struck by the gunfire of militants or from detonations of their explosives caches or suicide vests. — Reuters, The Mercury News, "40 civilians at wedding killed in U.S.-backed Afghanistan raid," 23 Sep. 2019 Hydrogen-bomb pioneer Edward Teller proposed, in this scenario, landing a nuclear explosive on the object itself, as the force of the detonation would propel it out of its orbit. — Fox News, "Humans are probably safe from a catastrophic asteroid strike — for now," 12 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'detonation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

13 Jan 2020

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“Detonation.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/detonation. Accessed 25 January 2020.