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:
Then came the next bombshell as it emerged that Reform MS for Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg Sarah Cooper-Lesadd was defecting to Plaid Cymru.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Copies of a "bombshell new book" by Earl Spencer, Princess Diana's younger brother, have been stolen from a lorry, the Daily Mail reports.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Not since the Dallas Cowboys dealt away Herschel Walker had a bombshell trade rocked the NFL quite like this one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
In bombshell interviews and tell-all documentaries, the American former actor has never hidden how difficult she found things following her 2018 fairytale wedding to Harry.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Things haven’t been the same since I saw him with that blond bombshell.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
“Love Island USA” Season 8 premieres Tuesday, sans Montgomery, and will feature a number of SoCal bombshells among its cast in Fuji.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
They did not hold any serious bombshells - nor any confirmation of alien life - but it marked the latest clear acknowledgement by the US government that it has investigated sightings of unidentified objects.
From BBC ● May 8, 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
But the paper presented these allegations as scandalous bombshells, call-ing them “startling disclosures.”
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
