blast wave

American  

noun

1. a violent propagating disturbance, produced by an explosion in air, that consists of an abrupt rise in pressure followed by a drop in pressure to or below atmospheric pressure.

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Etymology

Origin of blast wave

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

This marks where the supernova blast wave is ramming into surrounding circumstellar material.

From Science Daily • Dec. 12, 2023

Walls and windows of a neighbouring 14-storey apartment block were damaged by the blast wave.

From Reuters • Jul. 2, 2022

Before Los Angeles police sent a blast wave through it, Paula Benítez de Rodríguez’s life revolved around the squat, bubble-gum pink building she owns in South Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2022

A panel of blast wave experts also believed Mr Atkinson could have survived with timely medical intervention and the applying of effective tourniquets on both legs.

From BBC • Oct. 7, 2021

Striking the Earth’s atmosphere, a modest cometary fragment would produce a great radiant fireball and a mighty blast wave, which would burn trees, level forests and be heard around the world.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan