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gelignite

American  
[jel-ig-nahyt] / ˈdʒɛl ɪgˌnaɪt /

gelignite British  
/ ˈdʒɛlɪɡˌnaɪt /

noun

  1. Also called (informal): gelly. a type of dynamite in which the nitrogelatine is absorbed in a base of wood pulp and potassium or sodium nitrate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of gelignite

gel(atin) + Latin ign ( is ) fire + -ite 1


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

"Graham, a compact parcel of Scouse gelignite, doesn't tend to play softies, so his simmering aggression felt all too credible."

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2019

Moreover, its prose is so plain that a roomful of safecrackers and their molls might well while away the hours before the gelignite goes up by browsing through the work.

From Time Magazine Archive

The gelignite was later traced to an Irish explosives manufacturer and presumably had been transported into Britain directly across the Irish Sea.

From Time Magazine Archive

Searchers crawled through the Victorian sewers beneath the square to make sure that the Libyans had not disposed of gelignite they were thought to possess by flushing it down a toilet.

From Time Magazine Archive

For example, gelignite, which is being used for agricultural purposes in Great Britain, consists of nitro-glycerine mixed with nitro-cotton, wood-meal and saltpetre.

From Marvels of Scientific Invention An Interesting Account in Non-technical Language of the Invention of Guns, Torpedoes, Submarine Mines, Up-to-date Smelting, Freezing, Colour Photography, and many other recent Discoveries of Science by Thomas W. Corbin

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