napalm
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
napalmsimple
-
napalmssimple
-
have napalmedperfect
-
has napalmedperfect
-
am napalmingprogressive
-
are napalmingprogressive
-
is napalmingprogressive
-
have been napalmingperfect progressive
-
has been napalmingperfect progressive
Past
-
napalmedsimple
-
had napalmedperfect
-
was napalmingprogressive
-
were napalmingprogressive
-
had been napalmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of napalm
An Americanism dating back to 1940–45; na(phthene) + palm(itate)
Explanation
Napalm is a jelly-like form of gasoline used in fire bombs and flamethrowers. It's a deadly, painful weapon. Napalm sticks to skin, causing severe burns and making it one of the most horrible weapons used in combat. It was used often in the Vietnam War, and images of victims suffering from napalm burns helped make people question U.S. tactics and the war in general. These days you might hear the word napalm used to describe anything deadly or unpleasant. Spicy hot chicken wings could be like napalm on your taste buds or a touchy issue might be "political napalm."
Vocabulary lists containing napalm
"On the Vietnam War, 1967," Vocabulary from the speech
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Fallen Angels
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Chapter 30: The Vietnam War
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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.
See Examples For:
And so-called artificial intelligence, of course, is adding napalm to this dumpster fire.
From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2026
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 ● Mar. 4, 2026
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 ● Feb. 16, 2026
First, they attempted peaceful tactics, such as a pressure campaign to halt the manufacture of napalm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2023
It felt like napalm flushing down my esophagus.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
“I try not to burn bridges, but he napalms them,” said Dan Le Batard, a longtime columnist at The Miami Herald who has known Whitlock for years.
From New York Times ● Sep. 20, 2010
Four minutes later a photographer snapped an image as iconic as the napalmed child in Vietnam: McHale, sprawled atop crumpled metal, her face tranquil.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 25, 2022
Written by the Catholic priest Daniel Berrigan and based largely on verbatim transcripts, it describes how Berrigan, his brother and fellow priest, and seven parishioners napalmed several hundred draft cards.
From New York Times ● Jan. 10, 2019
I can't speak for anyone but me, but this year sometimes just felt like a dumpster on fire in the middle of recently napalmed landfill.
From The Verge ● Dec. 23, 2014
While it's true Woods napalmed the place in 2000, setting sick scoring records and winning by a gluttonous 15 shots, Mickelson also has Pebble pedigree.
From Newsweek ● Jun. 12, 2010
Some photo images find the retina of the heart and never go away: the fallen G.I.s on Omaha Beach on D-day, the napalmed girl in Vietnam and the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.
From Time Magazine Archive
There's no doubt that TV's worst have Springer to thank for napalming a trail for them.
From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2023
But there's no doubt the worst of TV's worst have Springer to thank for napalming a trail for them.
From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2023
“These actions are not ours,” Dorothy Day, the co-founder of the Catholic Worker newspaper, said of the Nine’s napalming of draft files.
From The New Yorker ● May 2, 2016
The royalists even launched an offensive of their own in the east, captured the mud-walled town of Harib despite constant bombing and napalming by the Egyptians.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
