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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

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 popping So when at-home brow tints started popping up all over social media, I was immediately intrigued. — Jenny Berg, Vogue, 9 July 2026 While the other videos did not offer the timestamp viewer information, fan cams and edits of San’s dance began popping up, going viral yet again. — Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 At the 83rd minute, the Inter Miami captain managed to tie up the match, with midfielder Enzo Fernández popping in the winning goal in stoppage time. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 8 July 2026 The fish, although reduced in number, gather in schools, hiding beneath the surface and popping up for little bites of food. — Zuri Primos july 8, Kansas City Star, 8 July 2026 Karlie Kloss returns to the runway for Schiaparelli's eye-popping new showNeed a news break? — Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 8 July 2026 Residents complained about teenagers popping wheelies through shopping centers, blowing stop signs, weaving around pedestrians and treating greenways like race courses. — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2026 Fans were naturally curious when photos of celebrities dressed to the nines while making their way out of the rehearsal dinner started popping up, so Amy Schumer seized the moment and jokingly posted her own ‘fit. — Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026 The sound of the finished toast popping up also filled a key audio role. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 6 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for popping
  1. exploding
  2. snapping
  3. shattering
  4. shooting
  5. detonating
  6. cracking
  7. smashing
  8. drilling
Verb
  • While Schitt’s Creek was completely overlooked by Emmy voters for its first four seasons, landing its first four nominations in 2019 for Season 5 before exploding with 15 noms the following year, Hacks has been an Emmy darling from the start.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 8 July 2026
  • Plenty of cosmic wonders are expected to be revealed by the telescope, including thousands of previously unseen asteroids, exploding supernova stars and millions of distant galaxies.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 7 July 2026
Definition of exploding
Verb
  • Paris Barraza Eventgoers at America’s Block Party Benefit Show at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum are snapping photos with a President Abraham Lincoln on stilts, playing corn hole – known as bags to some – and carrying cans of beer.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • During the show, Travis got on stage as one of the pop star's backup dancers before later snapping a selfie with William, George and Charlotte.
    — Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026
Definition of snapping
Verb
  • SoCal’s housing market growth SpaceX’s record-shattering IPO has unleashed a wave of high-end home shoppers poised to reshape Southern California’s already tight coastal housing markets.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
  • At the very least, the attacks have brought the war home even more poignantly for millions of Russians, shattering Putin’s narrative of the conflict as something that doesn’t affect the lives of ordinary people in his country.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 July 2026
Definition of shattering
Verb
  • The film began shooting on location in Anglesey, North Wales, at the end of June.
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 3 July 2026
  • Olivia Wilde says that a drowning scene became a little too real while shooting one of her earliest movies.
    — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 2 July 2026
Definition of shooting
Verb
  • To put it simply—detonating nuclear weapons in space can be as disastrous as detonating them on Earth.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 8 July 2026
  • Many older interceptor missiles use blast-fragmentation warheads, detonating near the incoming missile and destroying it with high-speed metal fragments.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 July 2026
Definition of detonating
Verb
  • Steven Galanis, Co-Founder and CEO at Cameo, discusses creators, celebrities, cracking the code and the state of the creator economy with Scott Soshnick at Cannes Lions.
    — Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 2 July 2026
  • Policymakers should treat it as a reminder that the country’s foundations are still cracking — and if the drift continues, the next rupture will be something darker.
    — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of cracking
Verb
  • Djokovic became so frustrated that he was given a code violation warning for smashing a racket, before eventually hauling himself over the line.
    — Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 5 July 2026
  • San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan joined in the fun Friday, serving and smashing with a paddle in a San Jose Earthquakes jersey.
    — Kyle Martin, Mercury News, 4 July 2026
Definition of smashing
Verb
  • Although the video does include a rig that involves drilling a mast beam (or thwart) into the canoe’s upper hull edge ( or gunwales), there is also a route that instead uses clamps.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 2 July 2026
  • Paramount also must win the approval of British and European regulators, who are known for drilling deeply into media matters because of their influence on society.
    — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of drilling

Browse Nearby Words

poppets
popping
popping (in)
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Cite this Entry

“Popping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/popping. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of popping for Spanish Speakers

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