Synonyms of popping

popping

verb

present participle of pop

1

as in exploding

to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure

a balloon popped suddenly and startled us all

Synonyms & Similar Words

• exploding
• detonating
• blowing
• bursting
• crumping
• going off
• smashing
• blowing up
• shattering
• firing
• splintering
• fragmenting
• mushrooming
• discharging
• burgeoning
• shooting
• ballooning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• imploding
• collapsing
• fizzling

2

as in snapping

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

• snapping
• cracking
• exploding
• bursting
• crackling
• splitting
• shattering
• clicking
• hissing
• clattering
• sputtering
• rending
• sizzling
• riving
• clacking

3

as in shattering

to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive

popping popcorn over a campfire

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shattering
• smashing
• demolishing
• blowing
• bursting
• exploding
• destroying
• blasting
• detonating
• blowing up
• wrecking
• ruining
• decimating
• dynamiting
• annihilating
• splintering
• discharging
• fragmenting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• collapsing
• imploding

4

as in shooting

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

• shooting
• drilling
• plugging
• dropping
• gunning
• killing
• destroying
• slaughtering
• slaying
• blazing
• bringing down
• peppering
• picking off
• blowing away
• firing (at)
• blasting (at)
• shooting down
• sniping (at)
• massacring
• butchering
• dispatching
• decimating
• wiping out
• shotgunning
• potshotting
• annihilating
• felling
• machine-gunning
• icing
• croaking
• blotting out
• doing in
• pistoling
• tommy-gunning

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of popping

That includes high-concept genre plays like Backrooms and Obsession and concert movies that surprise by popping at the box office. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026

Last week Tom Cruise shocked Chiefs fans by popping up in a suite with Taylor Swift at the season opener at Arrowhead Stadium. — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026

The aesthetics are everything for the clubs popping up around the country. — Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026

The city’s corporation counsel has also been tight-lipped, with no comment on what settlements on the horizon could be behind the eye-popping increase. — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026

In the latter half of 1976, two very different live music scenes were popping at the exact same time across England and America. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026

The back-to-school feeling of popping into an indie bookstore for a brand new notebook. — Sarah Allard, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Sep. 2026

Twenty years later, the infamous exchange keeps popping up on social media — and in the algorithm of Page Six Radio host Evan Real, who brought it up to Aiken in a new interview on Thursday. — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Sep. 2026

The serpents aren't the only unusual visitors popping up off Southern California's coast. — Lesley Marin, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026