bombast
Americannoun
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speech too pompous for an occasion; pretentious words.
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Obsolete. cotton or other material used to stuff garments; padding.
adjective
noun
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pompous and grandiloquent language
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obsolete material used for padding
Other Word Forms
- bombastic adjective
- bombastically adverb
Etymology
Origin of bombast
1560–70; earlier bombace padding < Middle French < Medieval Latin bombācem, accusative of bombāx; bombax family
Explanation
Bombast is a noun meaning pretentious or boastful talk. If your football coach is known for his bombast, he probably gives a pompous speech before each game about the greatness of the team and, of course, his coaching. Originally, bombast was cotton padding used to stuff or pad things like seat cushions. The meaning was extended to include padded and overstuffed speaking or writing, especially speech that's pretentious and showy. Other words with bombast at their roots include the adjective bombastic and the adverb bombastically. For all your coach's bluster and bombast, he's a pretty nice guy — too bad his overblown rhetoric turns people off before they get to know him.
Vocabulary lists containing bombast
"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass
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"'Blaxicans' and Other Reinvented Americans," Vocabulary from the argument
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Vocabulary Heard at the 2016 Democratic National Convention
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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.
For more than 25 years, under the name Harriet Tubman, Messrs. Ross, Gibbs and Lewis have crafted a gorgeous balance of bombast and repose, and a distinctive approach to trio interplay.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
In the closing minute, it switches into stadium rock bombast, as the band sing, "I'll follow you into the sun".
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
The 42-year-old Pacific Palisades native attributes his many lives to having an unparalleled amount of energy, a strain of inner bombast that could be likened to strobes of light and patterns behind closed eyelids.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026
And throughout all of the bulging bombast, Qualley maintains determined eye contact with the camera, reminding the audience that both the character and the actor playing her remain in complete control.
From Salon • Aug. 23, 2025
My father stepped forward and began a speech as stuffed with words as an actor’s coat is stuffed with bombast to make him fat.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
