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napalm

[ney-pahm]
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noun

a highly incendiary jellylike substance used in fire bombs, flamethrowers, etc.

verb (used with object)

to drop bombs containing napalm on (troops, a city, or the like).

RELATED WORDS

armament, bomb, bullet, cartridge, rocket, materiel, missile, chemical, explosive, shrapnel, torpedo, gunpowder, ammo, raid, bombard, destroy, attack, blast, strafe

Nearby words

  1. naomi,
  2. naos,
  3. nap,
  4. napa,
  5. napaeae,
  6. napata,
  7. nape,
  8. naperville,
  9. napery,
  10. naphtali

Origin of napalm

An Americanism dating back to 1940–45; na(phthene) + palm(itate)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for napalm

British Dictionary definitions for napalm

napalm

noun

a thick and highly incendiary liquid, usually consisting of petrol gelled with aluminium soaps, used in firebombs, flame-throwers, etc

verb

(tr) to attack with napalm

Word Origin for napalm

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

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Science definitions for napalm

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.