high explosive

noun

: an explosive (such as TNT) that generates gas with extreme rapidity and has a shattering effect

Examples of high explosive 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.
In Breaking Bear, a family of furry forest dwellers use everything in their power — including high explosives and drug money — to fight the frackers, mobsters, and a monstrous wolf pack threatening to destroy their home. Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 25 June 2026 As 32 blocks of high explosives erupted all together, their incredible force surged inward toward the sleeping plutonium core, compressing the dense sphere of metal instantaneously from all sides and bringing its atoms impossibly close together. IEEE Spectrum, 15 May 2026 One particularly effective advance was Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA), where the tank's hull is covered with steel boxes filled with high explosives. David Szondy may 07, New Atlas, 7 May 2026 Burning oil and high explosives can also emit volatile organic compounds, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and fine particulate matter that pose broader environmental and public health risks. Chris Hamill-Stewart, Wired News, 27 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for high explosive

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of high explosive was in 1877

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Cite this Entry

“High explosive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high%20explosive. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.

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