thermobaric

adjective

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ther·mo·bar·ic | \ ˌthər-mə-ˈbär-ik

, -ˈber-ik, -ˈba-rik \

Definition of thermobaric

of a weapon

: containing a charge of fuel designed to ignite and combine with oxygen present in the atmosphere to produce a prolonged explosion Rather than fight their way into such caverns, U.S. forces have preferred to drop specialized … weapons, including thermobaric bombs that emit clouds of powdered fuel and ignite them, sending waves of heat and pressure through caverns and depleting the oxygen inside.— Peter Baker and Pamela Constable

Examples of thermobaric in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Javelin will cause Russian forces to plaster likely missile positions with high explosive, cluster munition, and thermobaric artillery fire prior to any tank attack. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The U.S. Is Sending Deadly Javelin Missiles to Ukraine," 2 Jan. 2018 In line with President Putin’s recent saber-rattling tendencies, the country picked September 11th to test a giant new thermobaric device. — David Hambling, WIRED, "Russian Supersized Thermobaric," 12 Sep. 2007

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