napalm
[ney-pahm]
- a highly incendiary jellylike substance used in fire bombs, flamethrowers, etc.
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- to drop bombs containing napalm on (troops, a city, or the like).
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Origin of napalm
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for napalm
Contemporary Examples
Napalm is the infamous, goo-like substance that burns quickly when lit on fire and adheres easily to skin.
But one artist in Miami has gone even further, creating pieces made from napalm and a rare aphrodisiac soda, Nexcite.
Like napalm or the wrath of God, but for your digestive system.
Authorities also found the paintbrushes Holmes allegedly used to make the napalm.
Urban landscapes had been devastated by napalm and white phosphorous; two major Japanese cities had been leveled by atomic bombs.
Historical Examples
The napalm caught, tongues of flame and roiling, greasy smoke climbed up to the sky.
DeathworldHarry Harrison
Clenching the gun in his teeth, the Pyrran clutched a barrel of napalm with his good hand and hurled it over on its side.
DeathworldHarry Harrison
Two Pyrrans were rolling out drums of napalm with reckless disregard for their own safety.
DeathworldHarry Harrison
Burning wax was hotter than melted lead, and it stuck to anything it touched, worse than napalm.
Four-Day PlanetHenry Beam Piper
The napalm drums were unloaded without his help and the truck vanished for more.
DeathworldHarry Harrison
napalm
- a thick and highly incendiary liquid, usually consisting of petrol gelled with aluminium soaps, used in firebombs, flame-throwers, etc
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- (tr) to attack with napalm
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Word Origin
C20: from na (phthene) + palm (itate)
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 napalm
n.
1942, from na(phthenic) palm(itic) acids, used in manufacture of the chemical that thickens gasoline. The verb is 1950, from the noun. Related: Napalmed; napalming.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
napalm
[nā′päm′]
- A firm jelly made by mixing gasoline with aluminum salts (made of fatty acids). It is used in some bombs and in flamethrowers. Napalm was developed during World War II.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.