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airburst

American  
[air-burst] / ˈɛərˌbɜrst /

noun

  1. the explosion of a bomb or shell in midair.


airburst British  
/ ˈɛəˌbɜːst /

noun

  1. the explosion of a bomb, shell, etc, in the air

"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

Etymology

Origin of airburst

First recorded in 1915–20; air 1 + burst

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.

See Examples For:

Images taken after the strike further support the assessment that an airburst munition was used.

From BBC Apr. 3, 2026

His published research helped prompt a journal to retract a paper that incorrectly suggested an ancient city in Jordan was destroyed by a Tunguska-scale airburst.

From Science Daily Oct. 31, 2025

That leaves his group where it was before the discovery of Hiawatha: arguing the Younger Dryas trigger was an airburst rather than a body slamming into the ground.

From Science Magazine Mar. 8, 2022

The blast occurred roughly 16 miles above the ocean, creating a high-altitude airburst with perhaps 40 percent of the energy released by the destructive February 2013 meteor over Chelyabinsk, Russia.

From Scientific American Mar. 21, 2019

A Chelyabinsk-like airburst occurs somewhere on Earth on average every 50 years, usually over the oceans.

From Nature

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