explosion

noun ex·plo·sion \ ik-ˈsplō-zhən \

Updated on: 25 Apr 2018

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

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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

In 1938, 45 workers were killed in a coal mine explosion at Keen Mountain in Buchanan County, Virginia.

— BostonGlobe.com, "This day in history," 21 Apr. 2018
Graham traveled to Oklahoma City the Sunday after the April 19, 1995, explosion at the Alfred P. Murrah federal building that killed 168 people and injured hundreds more.

— Fox News, "Billy Graham remembered at Oklahoma City bombing memorial," 19 Apr. 2018
Moody was placed on death row after a jury convicted him of capital murder at a trial in Alabama five years later for the deadly pipe bomb explosion at Vance's Mountain Brook home that also seriously injured Vance's wife, Helen.

— kent faulk, AL.com, "Live Updates: Execution of Alabama's oldest death row inmate set for tonight," 19 Apr. 2018
Blankenship also happens to be the former C.E.O. of a controversial coal-mining company, and recently served a year-long stint in federal prison for his role in the deaths of 29 miners in a 2010 explosion at one of his mines.

— tina nguyen, The Hive, "Are Republicans Losing Control of Their Own Party?," 17 Apr. 2018
In Damascus, residents jolted awake by explosions at 4 a.m. expressed relief that the attack was short-lived.

— author: louisa loveluck, liz sly, Anchorage Daily News, "Assad is defiant as US-led strikes in Syria show no sign of threatening his hold on power," 15 Apr. 2018
In Damascus, there was defiance and relief as residents jolted awake by explosions at around 4 a.m. realized the strikes would be limited.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Syria defiant as Trump orders missile strikes after chemical attack," 14 Apr. 2018
The latest outage comes two months after a fiery explosion at an electric substation in San Juan threw much of northern Puerto Rico into darkness.

— NBC News, "Puerto Rico: Fallen tree on power line leaves 900K without power," 12 Apr. 2018
An explosion at Henderson Wheel and Supply on Wednesday morning was caused by a simulator round used in an M21 military tank, Garden City Police Sgt.

— michael katz and nicole blanchard, idahostatesman, "Military tank round caused Garden City explosion Wednesday, police say | Idaho Statesman," 11 Apr. 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