popped

verb

past tense of pop
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

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.
Recent Examples of popped Linebacker D’Marco Jackson popped up on Thursday’s injury report with an ankle injury. — Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026 Swastikas popped up near a polling place in Orlando’s Orange County. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2026 Dow futures popped 300 points, putting the 30-stock average on pace to build on its monster 1,500-point rally from Wednesday. — Fred Imbert, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026 In front of thousands of fans, a lit-up, smoke- and firework-spewing flying saucer known as the Mothership—a 1,500-pound aluminum-and-glass craft featuring a 241-pound landing ladder—descended onto the stage and out popped Clinton. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 5 Nov. 2026 Famous authors, starting with Charles Dickens in Bleak House, took inspiration from these startling descriptions, which popped up in Enlightenment and Victorian-era tabloids. — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 4 Nov. 2026 Searchlights swept the Southern sky, and flashbulbs popped as 18,000 spectators crowded Peachtree Street. — Serena Turner, Vanity Fair, 3 Nov. 2026 Third-string tight end Luke Schoonmaker is also questionable to play with a groin injury that popped up in Thursday’s practice. — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2026 When the meeting concluded, some of the scientists popped their bottles of cava in celebration. — Katie Worth, ProPublica, 30 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for popped
  1. exploded
  2. snapped
  3. shattered
  4. drilled
  5. detonated
  6. smashed
  7. plugged
  8. blew
Verb
  • That figure exploded to nearly $300 million in city payouts last year.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
  • During takeoff, all four tires exploded, and the brakes failed after pieces of the tires damaged the hydraulic system.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of exploded
Verb
  • Telasco Segovia provided assists on both goals as the Herons snapped a two-match winless run.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Andrew’s head snapped forward, his eye blurred in a burst of flesh and bone, the hollow filling with blood as a bullet tore through his head.
    — Ron Farina, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of snapped
Verb
  • Bystander video showed a fiery crater gouged into Military Trail, a major highway, with the pavement buckled and shattered around the wreckage.
    — Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Still, the state has shattered early voting records with a more diverse electorate and stronger turnout in left-leaning jurisdictions.
    — Caleb Groves, AJC.com, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of shattered
Verb
  • Quinn altered his approach to organized team activities and training camp, and drilled situational football incessantly in an effort to emphasize the details.
    — Tashan Reed, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Next, Wyatt got a special teams boost when kicker Joshua Acevedo drilled a 41-yard field goal for the Chaparrals.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Oct. 2026
Definition of drilled
Verb
  • The bomb detonated close to Reggane was four times more powerful than that used on Hiroshima.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2026
  • An operation in Kenscoff In the mists of the steep hills that ring southern Port-au-Prince, CNN saw one Task Force operation where helicopters manned by foreign contractors assaulted gang positions, and drones detonated amid the clatter of gunfire.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of detonated
Verb
  • When they were smashed into molecules consisting of two ordinary hydrogen atoms, the muonic atoms implanted themselves within those molecules and assimilated one of their hydrogens.
    — George Musser, Quanta Magazine, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In Frankfurt, police said Molotov cocktails were thrown at emergency personnel and shop windows were smashed.
    — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of smashed
Verb
  • Propped up by feats of engineering, Arizona’s economy steadily plugged along until the first World War, when the industrial demands of militarization transformed the desert state into an economic powerhouse.
    — Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Each console was tested in the device's performance mode while plugged directly into power, with the only difference being the resolution.
    — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of plugged
Verb
  • Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens could not get off the field fast enough after his team blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter to lose to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In reply, Snyder blew his own bugle, a simple tubular plastic whistle.
    — Rich LaRocco, Outdoor Life, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of blew

Browse Nearby Words

pop off
popped
popped (in)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Popped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/popped. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cockamamie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All