napalm

American  

[ney-pahm] / ˈneɪ pɑm /

noun

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

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verb (used with object)

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

napalm British  

/ ˈneɪpɑːm, ˈnæ- /

noun

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

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verb

1. (tr) to attack with napalm

napalm Scientific  

/ nā′päm′ /

1. 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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Etymology

Origin of napalm

An Americanism dating back to 1940–45; na(phthene) + palm(itate)

Example Sentences

And so-called artificial intelligence, of course, is adding napalm to this dumpster fire.

From Salon

After “The Godfather” made him a movie star in his 40s, he remained a beloved character actor for half a century, adding “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” to the cultural lexicon.

From The Wall Street Journal

He only had a few minutes of screen time but his famous line in Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 classic, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", became legendary.

From BBC

First, they attempted peaceful tactics, such as a pressure campaign to halt the manufacture of napalm.

From Los Angeles Times

Within a decade of the 1975 fall of Saigon, he reported, one of his students heard a reference to the incendiary chemical notoriously used as a weapon in Vietnam and “innocently asked what napalm was.”

From Washington Post

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