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explode

[ik-splohd]

verb (used without object)

to expand with force and noise because of rapid chemical change or decomposition, as gunpowder or nitroglycerine (opposed to implode).

to burst, fly into pieces, or break up violently with a loud report, as a boiler from excessive pressure of steam.

to burst forth violently or emotionally, especially with noise, laughter, violent speech, etc.: He exploded with rage when contradicted.

Phonetics. (of plosives) to terminate the occlusive phase with a plosion. Compare implode (def. 2).

Golf. to play an explosion shot on a golf ball.

verb (used with object)

to cause (gunpowder, a boiler, etc.) to explode.

to cause to be rejected; destroy the repute of; discredit or disprove: to explode a theory.

Phonetics. to end with plosion.

Golf. to play an explosion shot on (a golf ball).

10.

Obsolete. to drive (a player, play, etc.) from the stage by loud expressions of disapprobation.

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Explode is always a great word to know.

So is affricate. Does it mean:

to change the pronunciation of (a stop) to an affricate, esp. by releasing (the stop) slowly.

a frictionless speech sound with only a partial obstruction of the breath stream whose utterance can be prolonged, especially l and r

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Origin:
1530–40; < Latin explōdere to drive off by clapping, drive away, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + plod- variant stem of plaudere to clap, beat

Related forms

ex·plod·er, noun

pre·ex·plode, verb, -plod·ed, -plod·ing.

un·ex·plod·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To explode

Example Sentences

The equipment that was installed included igniters that burn off any hydrogen generated before the gas can explode.

Treat the statement as a time bomb waiting to explode your chances.

The plan may have been to explode them en route, perhaps as the plane was landing.

EXPAND

The equipment that was installed included igniters that burn off any hydrogen generated before the gas can explode.

Treat the statement as a time bomb waiting to explode your chances.

The plan may have been to explode them en route, perhaps as the plane was landing.

Brazil's dance scene is ready to explode onto the international stage once again.

Hostility toward others can explode into senseless violence.

He let them evolve, experience and explode in to life.

The vista is even more aah-inspiring when fireworks explode up and down the coast.

Fungus spores explode in sync to attain higher heights.

And since they have screw tops, they won't explode all over an expensive silk blouse.

Her rudeness almost caused me to explode in anger a couple of times.

The long-term picture, by contrast, is one in which rising health-care costs threaten to explode the country's budget.

Then create your own virtual volcano and watch it explode.

But dark matter can explode at the same time, making even more force, unless dark matter is gravity from the start.

The resulting destruction caused the shuttle's liquid-hydrogen fuel to explode and aerodynamic forces to tear the orbiter apart.

Tensions explode when the daughter catches her mother in bed with her lover and the maid.

My head will explode because the entire pool will empty into my sinuses.

Later on, it turned out that the bombs were meant to explode in the planes".

Concrete buildings explode into clouds of dust and rubble, and fires.

Methane gas isn't toxic to ingest, but it can explode.

So a new weapon which is said to freeze and explode the victim.

As pipelines explode and soldiers are killed, that's not good.

Pressure builds in the magma until the gases explode violently from the volcano's vents.

The point is life forms did not explode into advanced life forms they evolved.

Vehicles don't merely explode and disappear, they break down first and then explode in a burst of animation.

As tourism is about to explode in the developing world, governments should heed such lessons.

Others bounce wildly down steep hills and explode across jungle trails.

Generic matter did not explode into heavier advanced matter it also evolved.

Lighters run out of fluid, leak and occasionally explode.

Lithium-ion batteries can explode if they overheat-which in the past happened in some laptops.

Some ants find urban life so accommodating that their populations explode and they form supercolonies in.

It is the breaking of proximate restraints that frees the mind to explode with creativity.

When flammable powders are dispersed in the air, they can explode.

But its biggest metropolises conspicuously failed to explode in size.

The inclusion of people gazing at the fireworks as they explode emphasizes the dynamism of the.

Tigers eat the bait, and then die when the bombs explode in their mouths.

Many bomblets may not explode on contact, and later can be accidentally triggered by civilians".

The snag is that money-supply growth would explode without sterilisation, which is now close to its limit.

Some of these products have also been known to explode or poison users.

Otherwise, it will cause the earth to wobble in it's orbit and the planet will explode.

Once ignited, combustion would propel the torpedo to its target, where it might explode.

The situation is higly tense and approching to explode slowly but surely.

Lewin's watercolors fill entire pages and explode with color.

There is no center of the universe, the big bang did not explode from a central point and then expand out.

The resulting destruction caused the shuttle's liquid hydrogen fuel to explode and aerodynamic forces to tear apart the orbiter.

For example, it is well known that spending on government health programmes is likely to explode in coming decades.

Whirlpools spit wide swaths of foam, and seven-foot standing waves explode into the sky.

If you are one who understands science, their statements may cause your head to explode.

And sixth, he would establish a process to identify systemic risks before they explode.

But many, particularly tropical varieties, explode with bright colors and intricate patterns.

On tenterhooks and ready to explode due to problems which cannot be addressed so soon.

Ionized hydrogen is emitted as the colliding gases of these galaxies explode into new stars.

The moment a crisis arises, the demands on the time of the independent directors explode.

Gobbets of ice fall from the power lines and explode in puffs of white on the tar roads.

On the drum-roll, the processors pause, and golden flares explode either side of the statue.

For example, the population of deer or rabbits would explode without the presence of a predator.

User-generated online content will begin to explode in education.

Sub-surface mines are dangerous for miners as tunnels can collapse and built-up gas can explode.

Sometimes men carrying guns spontaneously explode and burn.

The fact these banks did not explode will probably see them, and their auditors, avoid legal problems.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

explode (ɪkˈspləʊd)

—vb
1.	to burst or cause to burst with great violence as a result of internal pressure, esp through the detonation of an explosive; blow up
2.	to destroy or be destroyed in this manner: to explode a bridge
3.	(of a gas) to undergo or cause (a gas) to undergo a sudden violent expansion, accompanied by heat, light, a shock wave, and a loud noise, as a result of a fast uncontrolled exothermic chemical or nuclear reaction
4.	(intr) to react suddenly or violently with emotion, etc: to explode with anger
5.	(intr) (esp of a population) to increase rapidly
6.	(tr) to show (a theory, etc) to be baseless; refute and make obsolete
7.	(tr) phonetics to pronounce (a stop) with audible plosion

[C16: from Latin explōdere to drive off by clapping, hiss (an actor) off, from ex-¹ + plaudere to clap]

ex'ploder

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

explode

1530s, from L. explodere "drive out or off by clapping," originally theatrical, "to drive an actor off the stage by making noise," hence "drive out, reject" (a sense surviving in an exploded theory), from ex- "out" + plaudere "to clap, applaud," of uncertain origin. English used it to mean "drive out

EXPAND

with violence and sudden noise" (1650s), later, "go off with a loud noise" (Amer.Eng. 1790); sense of "to burst with destructive force" is first recorded 1882; of population, 1959. Related: Exploded; exploding.

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Matching Quote

"The system was breaking down. The one who had wandered alone past so many happenings and events began to feel, backing up along the primal vein that led to his center, the beginning of hiccup that would, if left to gather, explode the center to the extremities of life, the suburbs through which one makes one's way to where the country is."

-John Ashbery

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