detonation

[det-n-ey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of detonating.

2. an explosion.

3. Machinery.,  the premature spontaneous burning of a fuel–air mixture in an internal-combustion engine due to the high temperature of air compressed in a cylinder.

Other Word Forms

• detonative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of detonation¹

1670–80; < Medieval Latin dētonātiōn- (stem of dētonātiō ), equivalent to Latin dētonāt ( us ) ( detonate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Israeli air and artillery strikes, attacks by quadcopter drones, and detonations of remotely driven vehicles laden with explosives are also continuing to drive tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes each day.

From BBC

The federal agency deployed its national response team, a group of investigators who reconstruct scenes, identify the point of detonation of an explosive device and can help determine the cause of the blast.

From Los Angeles Times

A Thursday morning detonation killed one person in a Simi Valley home, and a similar incident critically injured two people in a Bay Area residence where officials suspect fireworks were being manufactured.

From Los Angeles Times

Even a single, relatively small nuclear detonation hundreds of miles above the heads of Americans would create an electromagnetic pulse - or EMP - that would have apocalyptic results.

From BBC

The Egyptian air accident investigation report concluded there was a "detonation of an explosive device secreted in the forward galley", the area just behind the cockpit.

From BBC

Related Words

• ignition