detonate
Americanverb (used without object)
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detonates,
present (3rd person singular)
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detonated,
past participle, past
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detonating
present participle
verb (used with object)
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detonates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
detonated,
past participle, past
-
detonating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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detonabilitynoun
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detonatabilitynoun
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detonableadjective
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detonatableadjective
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nondetonatingadjective
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undetonatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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detonatesimple
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detonatessimple
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have detonatedperfect
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has detonatedperfect
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am detonatingprogressive
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are detonatingprogressive
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is detonatingprogressive
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have been detonatingperfect progressive
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has been detonatingperfect progressive
Past
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detonatedsimple
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had detonatedperfect
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was detonatingprogressive
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were detonatingprogressive
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had been detonatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of detonate
1720–30; < Latin dētonātus thundered forth (past participle of dētonāre ), equivalent to dē- de- + ton ( āre ) to thunder + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Boom! To detonate is to explode or cause something to explode. If a bad guy lights the fuse of a stick of dynamite, run before it detonates! In war, there is a lot of detonating, which is when something violently explodes, like bombs or grenades. When someone steps on a landmine, it detonates. The detonating of nuclear bombs devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. Also, to detonate is to set off a bomb. Pushing a button, flicking a switch, or lighting a fuse could detonate a bomb. Either way, to detonate is to blow up.
Vocabulary lists containing detonate
A Separate Peace
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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All the Light We Cannot See
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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.
See Examples For:
An attempt to detonate or diffuse the bomb failed, so Officer Brian Murray and three others were lowered into the crater.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
He said residents in towns south of Tyre left after hearing reports in the Lebanese media that Israel might detonate nearby.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
“Oil spikes don’t cause recessions alone — they detonate existing fragilities,” the Rapidan team said.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
The leaked Internal Affairs report said there was a mistaken “universal belief” within the bomb squad that the containment vessel could safely detonate up to 40 pounds of explosive materials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026
Fortunately for Hanson the bomb failed to detonate.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
She’s known for a soft, whispery vocal tone that occasionally detonates into a scream—here, it’s robotized via vocoder to suggest coldness and distance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
When a nuclear weapon detonates or a serious reactor accident occurs, an immense burst of energy is released in less than a millionth of a second.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026
If Wilder detonates early and finishes Herndon quicker than Torrez did, expect someone somewhere to shout: "He's back!"
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
He detonates narrative warfare wherever he goes, so it’s difficult to decipher what is planted to create spectacle to feed the mangy cult and what is a true trash fire of a human.
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2024
Halftime Right after you glance at April waving from the bleachers, your stomach detonates: KABOOM! and you lose it right there behind the bench in Pernell’s gym bag.
From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander
Video footage on social media showed large secondary explosions, suggesting stored ammunition was detonated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Councillor Sally Haydon, cabinet member for community safety, said 450 tonnes of sand had been transported to the site to place around the bomb before it was detonated.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
Instead, the round detonated prematurely at 453 meters, or about 1,486 feet, in the air, around 3,300 feet from its firing location, according to the report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026
The United States last test detonated a nuclear bomb in 1992.
From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026
The program for Redwing included the first airborne drop of a thermonuclear device, which created an enormous fireball four miles in diameter when it detonated fifteen thousand feet over Bikini.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
The drone, designed by Perennial Autonomy, a company backed by former Google CEO and billionaire Eric Schmidt using Ukrainian engineers, destroys other drones by detonating close by and has proven popular in Ukraine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
If your goal is to save money on taxes, detonating the tax torpedo is not ideal.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026
Earlier this month, Dutch officials said they thought four youths arrested on suspicion of detonating an explosive device outside a Rotterdam synagogue might have been recruited by Iran.
From Barron's ● Mar. 28, 2026
Prince Harry visited a village near to a minefield and met children who are given lessons in how to avoid detonating the explosives.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2025
I scan the area for the pods that will surely be detonating.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
