explosion

noun ex·plo·sion \ ik-ˈsplō-zhən \

|Updated on: 19 Jun 2018

Examples: explosion in a Sentence

Definition of explosion

1 : the act or an instance of exploding

injured in a laboratory explosion

2 : a large-scale, rapid, or spectacular expansion or bursting out or forth

the explosion of suburbia

an explosion of red hair

3 : the release of occluded breath that occurs in one kind of articulation of stop consonants

See explosion defined for English-language learners

See explosion defined for kids

Examples of explosion in a Sentence

The filmmakers staged the car's explosion.
The island was rocked by a series of volcanic explosions.
The region has experienced a population explosion.
His comments prompted an explosion of laughter from the crowd.

Recent Examples of explosion from the Web

Clinton and Patterson are far from the first people to imagine the president as an action hero, dodging bullets and explosions.

— adam kirsch, The Atlantic, "Bill Clinton’s Novel Isn't a Thriller—It's a Fantasy," 16 June 2018
Police said Tuesday night’s explosion was caused by a gas leak in a dryer.

— zachary hansen, ajc, "2 severely burned in Roswell house explosion in and out of surgery," 15 June 2018
On June 7, federal authorities responded to a report of another explosion along Brick Tavern Road.

— vinny vella, Philly.com, "Officials investigate another mystery explosion in Upper Bucks County," 15 June 2018
These cataclysmic stellar explosions are particularly bright in visible light and in x-rays—except in Arp 299’s murky center most of that light would be absorbed by dust and reradiated in the infrared; the remnant would then leak out as radio waves.

— lee billings, Scientific American, "Giant Black Hole Swallows a Star and Belches Out a Superfast Particle Jet," 14 June 2018
New Berlin Eisenhower head coach Nick Datka wasn't anticipating an offensive explosion prior to his team's Division 2 state semifinal against Oregon.

— curt hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "WIAA state soccer: Opportunistic Oregon takes down New Berlin Eisenhower," 14 June 2018
Sunday’s explosion damaged more than 100 homes, officials reportedly said, but as of Wednesday, no charges have been filed yet.

— joel langstein, Fox News, "Ohio house explosion believed to have been caused by suspects scrapping metal, police say," 13 June 2018
The team — from Boise State University, Stanford, and the Instituto Geofísico of the Escuela Politécnica Nacional — suspect that these tornillos might be kicked off by small explosions or toots of gas at the bottom of the volcano.

— rachel becker, The Verge, "Why this volcano in Ecuador sounds like it’s breathing," 13 June 2018
But as her housemate points out, these letters are very much their own kind of bomb, and end up doing a lot more damage than Ofglen’s literal explosion a few episodes back.

— emma dibdin, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Handmaid's Tale Season 2 Episode 9: Luke and Nick Just Met and I Cannot Deal," 13 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of explosion

Latin explosion-, explosio act of driving off by clapping, from explodere

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First Known Use: 1681

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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explosion Synonyms

EXPLOSION Defined for English Language Learners

explosion

noun

Definition of explosion for English Language Learners

: the sudden, loud, and violent release of energy that happens when something (such as a bomb) breaks apart in a way that sends parts flying outward
: a sudden and very fast increase
: a sudden expression of some strong emotion