bombshell
Americannoun
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bombshells
plural
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a bomb.
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something or someone having a sudden and sensational effect.
The news of his resignation was a bombshell.
noun
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(esp formerly) a bomb or artillery shell
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a shocking or unwelcome surprise
the news of his death was a bombshell
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informal an attractive girl or woman (esp in the phrase blonde bombshell )
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bombshell
1700–10; 1925–30 bombshell for def. 2; bomb + shell
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:
Saba coffee shop has become a destination for fans of the Peacock reality show “Love Island USA” after owner Gal Tshnieder was cast as a bombshell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
It wasn’t a surprise, but it was a bombshell.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
WASHINGTON—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was planning to head to Brussels last month to deliver what would be a bombshell announcement in a meeting with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s top military chiefs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Stokes' return hinted normality may resume until his bombshell announcement on Sunday, one of the most extraordinary days in English cricket history.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
All true, but the military, which was still recovering from Yardley’s bombshell, did not want to see such things in print.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
The calming locales both complement and contradict the plot’s revelations, which are hardly bombshells but do speak to how well-to-do families labor to shove inconvenient skeletons into the closet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Producers were keen to capitalise on that for the latest All Stars, which saw six American bombshells enter in their own Casa Amor villa halfway through.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Two aspects of the 28-point peace plan, in particular, landed like bombshells in Europe’s defense and foreign-policy establishment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
And she thought she had narrowly escaped the bombshells in recent days.
From BBC ● May 29, 2025
But the paper presented these allegations as scandalous bombshells, call-ing them “startling disclosures.”
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
