detonation

American  

[det-n-ey-shuhn] / ˌdɛt nˈeɪ ʃən /

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.

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detonation British  

/ ˌdɛtəˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. an explosion or the act of exploding

2. the spontaneous combustion in an internal-combustion engine of part of the mixture before it has been reached by the flame front, causing the engine to knock

3. physics rapid combustion, esp that occurring within a shock wave

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Other Word Forms

• detonative adjective

Etymology

Origin of detonation

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

Example Sentences

Under Finland's 1987 Nuclear Energy Act, the import, manufacture, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives is prohibited on Finnish soil - even during wartime.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

ICF allows scientists to replicate and study the effects of nuclear weapons, including how materials behave under the same extreme temperatures and pressures found inside a nuclear detonation, without an actual nuclear test.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

Police said in a statement that it was an accidental detonation, not a terrorist attack.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025

The last US nuclear test explosion was in September 1992, with a 20-kiloton underground detonation at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site.

From Barron's • Oct. 30, 2025

They walked to school without incident, though Moss would have been hard-pressed to have noticed the detonation of an atom bomb that morning.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

Related Words

• ignition