Dictionary.com
definitions

implosion

[im-ploh-zhuh n]
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR implosion ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of imploding; a bursting inward (opposed to explosion).
Phonetics.
  1. the occlusive phase of stop consonants.
  2. (of a stop consonant) the nasal release heard in the common pronunciation of eaten, sudden, or mitten, in which the vowel of the final syllable is greatly reduced.
  3. the ingressive release of a suction stop.Compare plosion.

RELATED CONTENT

t-minus
T-minus 10...9...8...7...6...
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

breakdown, inadequacy, deterioration, rupture, bankruptcy, loss, misstep, collapse, decline, failing, deficiency, defeat, bomb, misadventure, wreck, turkey, lemon, decay, stoppage, rout

Origin of implosion

First recorded in 1875–80; im-1 + (ex)plosion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for implosion

Contemporary Examples of implosion

British Dictionary definitions for implosion

implosion

noun

the act or process of implodingthe implosion of a light bulb
phonetics the suction or inhalation of breath employed in the pronunciation of an ingressive consonant
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 implosion
n.

"a bursting inward," 1829, modeled on explosion, with assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)).

And to show how entire the neglect and confusion have been, they speak in the same breath of all these explosions, and of the explosion of a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, the result of which, instead of being a gas or an enlargement of bulk, a positive quantity, is a negative one. It is a vacuum, in a popular sense, because the produce is water. The result is an implosion (to coin a word), not an explosion .... ["Gas-light," "Westminster Review," October 1829]

In early use often in reference to effect of deep sea pressures, or in phonetics. Figurative sense is by 1960.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for implosion

implosion

[ĭm-plō′zhən]

n.

A type of behavior therapy in which the patient is repeatedly subjected to anxiety-arousing stimuli while the therapist attempts to extinguish the patient's anxiety and anxious behavior and replace them with more appropriate responses.
A bursting inward rather than outward.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.