airburst

American  

[air-burst] / ˈɛərˌbɜrst /

noun

1. the explosion of a bomb or shell in midair.

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airburst British  

/ ˈɛəˌbɜːst /

noun

1. the explosion of a bomb, shell, etc, in the air

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Etymology

Origin of airburst

First recorded in 1915–20; air ¹ + burst

Example Sentences

Touchdown airbursts are a form of cosmic impact that may happen more often than the well-known, crater-forming events linked to mass extinctions.

From Science Daily

Boslough notes that the same pattern would likely occur if a similar airburst happened over New Mexico.

From Science Daily

By comparison, objects measuring around 20 meters across -- such as the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013 -- can generate powerful airbursts capable of damaging buildings and injuring people with shockwaves.

From Science Daily

The novel protocol the researchers developed for identifying shock fractures in quartz grains will be useful in identifying previously unknown airbursts that are estimated to recur every few centuries to millennia.

From Science Daily

Words for him were like weapons designed to pierce the pages or explode above them in illuminating airbursts.

From Literature