explode

[ ik-splohd ]

/ ɪkˈsploʊd /

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See synonyms for: explode / exploded / exploding on Thesaurus.com

Definition of explode

verb (used without object), ex·plod·ed, ex·plod·ing.

to expand with force and noise because of rapid chemical change or decomposition, as gunpowder or nitroglycerine (opposed to implode).

to burst, fly into pieces, or break up violently with a loud report, as a boiler from excessive pressure of steam.

to burst forth violently or emotionally, especially with noise, laughter, violent speech, etc.: He exploded with rage when contradicted.

Phonetics. (of plosives) to terminate the occlusive phase with a plosion.Compare implode (def. 2).

Golf. to play an explosion shot on a golf ball.

verb (used with object), ex·plod·ed, ex·plod·ing.

to cause (gunpowder, a boiler, etc.) to explode.

to cause to be rejected; destroy the repute of; discredit or disprove: to explode a theory.

Phonetics. to end with plosion.

Golf. to play an explosion shot on (a golf ball).

Obsolete. to drive (a player, play, etc.) from the stage by loud expressions of disapprobation.

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Origin of explode

1530–40; <Latin explōdere to drive off by clapping, drive away, equivalent to ex-ex-¹ + plod- variant stem of plaudere to clap, beat

OTHER WORDS FROM explode

ex·plod·er, nounpre·ex·plode, verb, pre·ex·plod·ed, pre·ex·plod·ing.un·ex·plod·ed, adjective

Words nearby explode

explication de texte, explicative, explicit, explicit function, explicitly, explode, exploded view, explodent, exploding star, exploit, exploitation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use explode in a sentence

The moment exploded on social media, inspiring jokes, memes and a surprise resurgence of the 2017 single onto Twitter’s trending topics.
Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccine; Biden says Americans shouldn’t trust Trump|Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
The hype around cloud database developer Snowflake exploded on Wednesday, as the company’s shares more than doubled in value on their first day of trading after a high-profile initial public offering.
Snowflake’s shares soar 112% after IPO|Aaron Pressman|September 16, 2020|Fortune
From Santa Cruz to Lake Tahoe, thousands of bolts of electricity exploded down onto withered grasslands and forests, some of them already hollowed out by climate-driven infestations of beetles and kiln-dried by the worst five-year drought on record.
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration|by Abrahm Lustgarten, photography by Meridith Kohut|September 15, 2020|ProPublica
While the app’s design and ability to foster a creative community caused it to surge onto the social media scene, it’s exploding because of the way it gathers and harnesses data to enhance the user experience.
Unpacking the TikTok algorithm: Three reasons why it’s the most addictive social network|Brian Freeman|September 11, 2020|Search Engine Watch

Warren said the exploding number of cases at Metropolitan has felt inevitable to defense attorneys since the pandemic started.
Federal Jail Downtown Now Has One of the Country’s Worst COVID Outbreaks|Maya Srikrishnan|September 10, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Angry Birds at its simplest was the same way, though you wanted to watch things collapse and explode.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In a dramatic twist on mistletoe reproduction, their seeds explode, literally.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants|Helen Thompson|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It failed to explode, but U.S. officials knew they were lucky.
Pakistani School Killers Want to Strike the U.S.|Sami Yousafzai, Christopher Dickey|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Markov tells The Daily Beast he expects the situation in eastern Ukraine to explode in the coming two days.
Ukraine Could Explode in the Next 48 Hours|Anna Nemtsova|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Add in fiery preaching by anti-gay zealots, often funded by American organizations, and you have a volatile brew ready to explode.
The Uganda Ruling is Good For Everyone But Gays|Jay Michaelson|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And now the time had come at which the hoarded illhumour of six months was at liberty to explode.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
He had made and set adrift those powder kegs, fixing them so that they would explode on touching anything.
Stories of Our Naval Heroes|Various
He feared to fill the balloon to its capacity lest the expansion of the gas due to the hot sun should explode it.
In Africa|John T. McCutcheon
The gentleman who had named himself Dismuke puffed out his cheeks and looked as if he were about to explode.
The Wreckers|Francis Lynde
He was fixing his eye on a spot in the floor as though he expected it to explode and blow them to fragments.
Villa Rubein and Other Stories|John Galsworthy

British Dictionary definitions for explode

explode

/ (ɪkˈspləʊd) /

verb

to burst or cause to burst with great violence as a result of internal pressure, esp through the detonation of an explosive; blow up

to destroy or be destroyed in this mannerto explode a bridge

(of a gas) to undergo or cause (a gas) to undergo a sudden violent expansion, accompanied by heat, light, a shock wave, and a loud noise, as a result of a fast uncontrolled exothermic chemical or nuclear reaction

(intr) to react suddenly or violently with emotion, etcto explode with anger

(intr) (esp of a population) to increase rapidly

(tr) to show (a theory, etc) to be baseless; refute and make obsolete

(tr) phonetics to pronounce (a stop) with audible plosion

Compare implode

Derived forms of explode

exploder, noun

Word Origin for explode

C16: from Latin explōdere to drive off by clapping, hiss (an actor) off, from ex- 1 + plaudere to clap

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

explode

Definition of explode

Origin of explode

OTHER WORDS FROM explode

Words nearby explode

Words related to explode

How to use explode in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for explode

Derived forms of explode

Word Origin for explode