1
as in exploded
to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure
a balloon popped suddenly and startled us all
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in snapped
to break suddenly with an explosive sound
the last strand popped, causing the chandelier to drop to the floor with a great crash
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in shattered
to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive
popping popcorn over a campfire
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in drilled
to strike with a missile from a gun
went into the woods hoping to pop the rabbit that was eating our vegetables
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of popped
Brinker International — The parent company of Chili’s and Maggiano’s Little Italy popped 4% following an upgrade to outperform from in line from Evercore ISI.
—
Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2025
The advisories and closures popped up across the East Coast, from Florida to Maine, along inland streams and rivers, and were present throughout the California coast.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
Most taxpayers hope to interact with tax authorities as little as possible—a call to ask a quick question, a click on the IRS website, or a scrawled note on a tax bill popped in the mail.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Ultraslim soles have since popped up everywhere from Louis Vuitton to Adidas—but the OG pair is still our favorite investment of the bunch.
—Amina Ayoud, Glamour, 3 Sep. 2025
Almost instantaneously, headlines inaccurately stating that Europe had banned all gel manicures popped up, quickly followed by fact-free fearmongering on social media.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 3 Sep. 2025
Dressed in a plaid top, a black pleated skirt, and sunglasses, Hathaway appeared to slip when the heel of her shoe broke, and then popped back up while raising her hands in mock triumph.
—Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The rapper Snoop Dogg described being uncomfortable with a Disney Pixar movie scene, and Travis Kelce popped the question to Taylor Swift with a pricey rock.
—Staff, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The dessert had popped up on menus in 2000.
—Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2025
The advisories and closures popped up across the East Coast, from Florida to Maine, along inland streams and rivers, and were present throughout the California coast.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
Most taxpayers hope to interact with tax authorities as little as possible—a call to ask a quick question, a click on the IRS website, or a scrawled note on a tax bill popped in the mail.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Ultraslim soles have since popped up everywhere from Louis Vuitton to Adidas—but the OG pair is still our favorite investment of the bunch.
—Amina Ayoud, Glamour, 3 Sep. 2025
Almost instantaneously, headlines inaccurately stating that Europe had banned all gel manicures popped up, quickly followed by fact-free fearmongering on social media.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 3 Sep. 2025
Dressed in a plaid top, a black pleated skirt, and sunglasses, Hathaway appeared to slip when the heel of her shoe broke, and then popped back up while raising her hands in mock triumph.
—Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The rapper Snoop Dogg described being uncomfortable with a Disney Pixar movie scene, and Travis Kelce popped the question to Taylor Swift with a pricey rock.
—Staff, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The dessert had popped up on menus in 2000.
—Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for popped
Verb
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The streets of Boise exploded in a burst of color and music on Sunday as the Boise Pride Parade swept down River Street.—
Sally Krutzig,
Idaho Statesman,
8 Sep. 2025
-
As large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-3 and GPT-4 exploded onto the scene, students and teaching assistants alike began questioning whether assessments ought to be handled differently.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The picture was a cozy, smiley selfie featuring the trio, and appeared to have been snapped in cooler weather.—
Kayla Grant,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Andrew Alvarez allowed one hit over five innings in his major-league debut as the Washington Nationals snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over the visiting Miami Marlins on Monday.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In the aftermath, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko recorded a video message from the building’s shattered upper floors.—
Katya Soldak,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Photos of the aftermath showed the front windshield on the roof of the bus shattered and nearly flattened.—
Michael Rios,
CNN Money,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
My parents drilled this into me.—
Kendra MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Jake Cronenworth drilled a comebacker off Brown’s leg for an RBI single.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In September 2024, Israel blew up the group’s pagers, causing gruesome injuries as the devices detonated in Hezbollah operatives’ pockets.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
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An Israeli air force official said that for the first time, a Houthi missile contained a number of sub-munitions, which were intended to be detonated upon impact.—
Eyad Kourdi,
CNN Money,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
In a new paper, researchers report that sPHENIX measured both the number and energy of particles produced when gold ions smashed together at nearly light speed.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Sep. 2025
-
For twenty years, the rage-fuelled God Kratos has smashed his way across our screens.—
Joshua Lamb,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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When the oil begins to dry up, wells are supposed to be plugged to prevent toxic, climate-altering chemicals from escaping.—
September 7,
NPR,
7 Sep. 2025
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Since the rise of generative artificial intelligence in 2022, the technology has mostly been plugged into parts of the production pipeline as far as its deployment in Hollywood.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Cleveland Browns blew both a golden opportunity at what would’ve been the surprise upset of Week 1 and a chance to add to the Cincinnati Bengals’ early-season misery of the past few years.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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On a 3rd and 1, Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt got a first down with the help of Kelce blocking on the line, but the tight end blocked a little bit longer after the whistle blew.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Popped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/popped. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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