explode

[ ik-splohd ]

/ ɪkˈsploʊd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR explode ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

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

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for explode

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
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

Holmes: “I had five seconds from the time the pin falls off from that grenade until it will explode.”
‘Kill Team’: The Documentary the Army Doesn’t Want You to See|Andrew Romano|July 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My dogs look like they are going to explode, said Chuck as he wiggled his toes in the cool water.
Slim Evans and his Horse Lightning|Graham M. Dean
"And something will explode ere long, I imagine," laughed Horace Kelsey.
The Young Bridge-Tender|Arthur M. Winfield
Very often excessive speed alone will cause a fan to explode.
Life in a Railway Factory|Alfred Williams
In point of fact, the charge is set with an interrupter detonator which will explode as soon at the power line is severed.
The Great Drought|Sterner St. Paul Meek
It may explode on contact or on time, or a combination of these two.
Armageddon--2419 A.D.|Philip Francis Nowlan

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 Formsexploder, 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

Word Origin and History for explode

explode

1530s, "to reject with scorn," from Latin explodere "drive out or off by clapping, hiss off, hoot off," originally theatrical, "to drive an actor off the stage by making noise," hence "drive out, reject" (a sense surviving in an exploded theory), from ex- "out" (see ex-) + plaudere "to clap the hands, applaud," of uncertain origin. Athenian audiences were highly demonstrative. clapping and shouting approval, stamping, hissing, and hooting for disapproval. The Romans seem to have done likewise.

At the close of the performance of a comedy in the Roman theatre one of the actors dismissed the audience, with a request for their approbation, the expression being usually plaudite, vos plaudite, or vos valete et plaudite. [William Smith, "A First Latin Reading Book," 1890]

English used it to mean "drive out with violence and sudden noise" (1650s), later, "go off with a loud noise" (American English, 1790); sense of "to burst with destructive force" is first recorded 1882; of population, 1959. Related: Exploded; exploding.

explode

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

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

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of explode

Examples from the Web for explode

explode

verb

Word Origin for explode

explode