implosion
Americannoun
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the act of imploding; a bursting inward (opposed to explosion).
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Phonetics.
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the occlusive phase of stop consonants.
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(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.
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the ingressive release of a suction stop.
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noun
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the act or process of imploding
the implosion of a light bulb
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phonetics the suction or inhalation of breath employed in the pronunciation of an ingressive consonant
Etymology
Origin of implosion
First recorded in 1875–80; im- 1 + (ex)plosion
Explanation
An implosion is the abrupt, violent collapse of something large. When an old building needs to be removed to make way for new structures, implosion is often used as a controlled way to destroy it. A real scientific implosion happens when the pressure inside and outside of an object vary so much that the object is crushed, or collapses in on itself. This can happen, for example, to a submarine under the water or to a collapsing star in the galaxy. The implosion of a building involves careful, small explosions that make the middle fall as the sides collapse inwardly.
Vocabulary lists containing implosion
The Graveyard Book
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Darius the Great Is Not Okay
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Grounded
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Like Ted, Greg is also recovering from a long-ago divorce, but what forces him out of his shell is the implosion of his daughter’s.
From Salon • May 11, 2026
Owner Arte Moreno cut payroll this year, amid the implosion of the FanDuel regional sports networks.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
As for the state of software, following the sector’s implosion earlier this year, Kim said it’s “both dead and we’ll have more software than ever.”
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
Hui Ka Yan, once one of the world’s richest men, was accused along with the developer whose implosion helped spark a property crisis in China.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
The bomb was an exact copy of the American implosion bomb tested at Trinity, and the rising, twisting, pulsing ball of fire looked just the same.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
