bomb
Americannoun
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bombs
plural
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Military. a projectile, formerly usually spherical, filled with a bursting charge and exploded by means of a fuze, by impact, or otherwise, now generally designed to be dropped from an aircraft.
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any similar missile or explosive device used as a weapon, to disperse crowds, etc..
a time bomb;
a smoke bomb.
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Also called volcanic bomb. Geology. a rough spherical or ellipsoidal mass of lava, ejected from a volcano and hardened while falling.
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Meteorology. a weather bomb.
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Football. a long forward pass, especially one to a teammate who scores a touchdown.
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Slang. an absolute failure; fiasco.
The play was a bomb and closed after two performances.
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Computers. a catastrophic program failure or system failure.
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Slang. the bomb, something or someone that is excellent or very impressive.
Her boyfriend is the bomb!
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Chiefly British Slang. an overwhelming success.
The novel is selling like a bomb.
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Jazz. a sudden, unexpected accent or rhythmic figure played by a drummer during a performance.
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a lead or lead-lined container for transporting and storing radioactive materials.
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the bomb,
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nuclear weapons collectively.
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Slang. a powerful automobile or other vehicle.
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Slang. something unpleasant that is unexpected or shocking (often used in combination with the first letter of an offensive or unmentionable word, as in ).
He's always dropping f-bombs.
Then came the bomb about the staff cuts.
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Slang. something unauthorized or illegal that is executed in a stealthy manner, typically having an overwhelming or sensational effect (used in combination, as in ).
verb (used with object)
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bombs,
present (3rd person singular)
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bombed,
past participle, past
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bombing
present participle
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to hurl bombs at or drop bombs upon, as from an airplane; bombard.
The enemy planes bombed the city.
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to explode by means of a bomb or explosive.
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to damage, ruin, defeat, etc., as if with bombs.
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Computers. to deliberately cause (a computer system) to fail with a program written for the purpose.
verb (used without object)
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bombs,
present (3rd person singular)
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bombed,
past participle, past
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bombing
present participle
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to hurl or drop bombs.
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to explode a bomb or bombs.
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Slang. to be or make a complete failure, especially to fail to please or gain an audience (sometimes followed byout ).
His last play bombed on Broadway.
The business bombed out with a $25,000 debt.
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Computers. (of a computer program or system) to fail catastrophically.
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Slang. to spray-paint graffiti over many surfaces in an area, working quickly and using simple forms and designs.
He made his reputation bombing on the east side of town.
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Informal. to move very quickly.
They came bombing through here on their motorcycles at 2 a.m.
noun
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a hollow projectile containing an explosive, incendiary, or other destructive substance, esp one carried by aircraft
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( as modifier )
bomb disposal
a bomb bay
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( in combination )
a bombload
bombproof
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any container filled with explosive
a car bomb
a letter bomb
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a hydrogen or atomic bomb considered as the ultimate destructive weapon
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slang something excellent
it's the bomb
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a round or pear-shaped mass of volcanic rock, solidified from molten lava that has been thrown into the air
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med a container for radioactive material, applied therapeutically to any part of the body
a cobalt bomb
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slang a large sum of money (esp in the phrase make a bomb )
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slang a disastrous failure
the new play was a total bomb
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slang an old or dilapidated motorcar
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American football a very long high pass
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(in rugby union) another term for up-and-under
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informal with great speed or success; very well (esp in the phrase go like a bomb )
verb
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to attack with or as if with a bomb or bombs; drop bombs (on)
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informal (intr; often foll by off, along, etc) to move or drive very quickly
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slang (intr) to fail disastrously; be a flop See also bomb out
the new play bombed
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bombsimple
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bombssimple
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have bombedperfect
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has bombedperfect
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am bombingprogressive
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are bombingprogressive
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is bombingprogressive
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have been bombingperfect progressive
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has been bombingperfect progressive
Past
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bombedsimple
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had bombedperfect
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was bombingprogressive
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were bombingprogressive
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had been bombingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bomb
First recorded in 1580–90; earlier bom(b)e, from Spanish bomba (de fuego) “ball (of fire),” akin to bombo “drum,” from Latin bombus “a booming sound,” from Greek bómbos
Vocabulary lists containing bomb
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:
The U.S. government initiated and oversaw the entire enterprise that unleashed the atom and made the bomb.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Dalit recalls how her eldest son, Uri, turned nine on 7 October 2023 - when they spent the day hiding in their bomb shelter.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Kyselova, an arts-and-crafts teacher, considers it a lucky day, even though she has just taught eight lessons in a bomb shelter, because her friend got two tickets for the musical.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
After three days of investigations, including using a bomb disposal team, police said Tuesday they had found no explosives in the vehicles, but they had retrieved a "quantity of petrol".
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Part of this hospital was especially for those with the atom bomb sickness.
From "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr
It’s also one of the biggest bombs for any studio this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Half of those would be MK-84 bombs and the rest would be BLU-117s, the officials said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
"These buildings are nothing but ticking time bombs," said Ahmed Al-Ajla, whose uncle and other relatives were killed in the collapse.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
Usually, they weigh 250 or 500 kg, but there have been cases of Russia deploying bombs that weigh 1,500 kg.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Masha followed Zhenya Timofeyeva steadily through the chaotic sky toward the target where they were supposed to drop their bombs.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
In 2006, she memorably performed as a kids’ birthday party entertainer—and bombed.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026
In Paktia, an official said jets had bombed the Afghan Armed Forces' 203 Mansouri Corps, which is controlled by the Taliban, without providing any information on casualties.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Iran hasn’t accepted inspections of its core nuclear sites since they were bombed in June 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
They also came after Israel bombed the disused Abu Duhur airbase in the country's northwest earlier in the week, claiming it wanted to avert Turkish troops deploying to the facility.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
The reason for the soliloquy here is that Morgenstern's previous book had gotten bombed by the critics and also hadn’t sold beans.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
The hearings will centre on the days immediately before and after the atrocity and will examine how the bombing was carried out and who was responsible.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
The inquiry was established to determine if the bombing could have been prevented by UK state authorities.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1994, the government closed Pennsylvania Avenue to vehicle traffic.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
In World War II, the U.S.’s massive industrial base was crucial for victory, as was U.S.-U.K. bombing of Nazi Germany’s industries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
No fighting or bombing or invading other places, just living out in the open, on the beach.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
