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explode - 6 dictionary results

ex⋅plode

  [ik-splohd] verb, -plod⋅ed, -plod⋅ing.
Use explode in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to expand with force and noise because of rapid chemical change or decomposition, as gunpowder or nitroglycerine (opposed to implode ).
2. to burst, fly into pieces, or break up violently with a loud report, as a boiler from excessive pressure of steam.
3. to burst forth violently or emotionally, esp. with noise, laughter, violent speech, etc.: He exploded with rage when contradicted.
4. Phonetics. (of plosives) to terminate the occlusive phase with a plosion. Compare implode (def. 2).
5. Golf. to play an explosion shot on a golf ball.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cause (gunpowder, a boiler, etc.) to explode.
7. to cause to be rejected; destroy the repute of; discredit or disprove: to explode a theory.
8. Phonetics. to end with plosion.
9. 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.
Origin:
1530–40; < L explōdere to drive off by clapping, drive away, equiv. to ex- ex- 1 + plod- var. s. of plaudere to clap, beat

Related forms:
ex⋅plod⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To explode
ex·plode   (ĭk-splōd')   
v.   ex·plod·ed, ex·plod·ing, ex·plodes

v.   intr.
  1. To release mechanical, chemical, or nuclear energy by the sudden production of gases in a confined space: The bomb exploded.
  2. To burst violently as a result of internal pressure.
  3. To shatter with a loud noise: The vase exploded into tiny pieces when it hit the floor.
  4. To make an emotional outburst: My neighbor exploded in rage at the trespassers.
  5. To increase suddenly, sharply, and without control: The population level in this area has exploded during the past 12 years.
  6. To change state or appearance suddenly: Over the weekend the trees exploded with color.
  7. Sports To hit a golf ball out of a sand trap with a shot that scatters the sand.
v.   tr.
  1. To cause to release energy or burst violently and noisily: The children exploded three firecrackers.
  2. To show to be false or unreliable: explode a hypothesis.
  3. Sports To hit (a golf ball) out of a sand trap with an explosive shot.

[Latin explōdere, to drive out by clapping : ex-, ex- + plaudere, to clap.]
ex·plod'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Explode

Ex*plode"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Exploded; p. pr. & vb. n. Exploding.] [L. explodere, explosum, to drive out, drive out a player by clapping; ex out+plaudere, plodere, to clap, strike, applaud: cf. OF. exploder. See Plausible.]

1. To become suddenly expanded into a great volume of gas or vapor; to burst violently into flame; as gunpowder explodes.

2. To burst with force and a loud report; to detonate, as a shell filled with powder or the like material, or as a boiler from too great pressure of steam.

3. To burst forth with sudden violence and noise; as, at this, his wrath exploded.

Explode

Ex*plode"\, v. t. 1. To drive from the stage by noisy expressions of disapprobation; to hoot off; to drive away or reject noisily; as, to explode a play. [Obs.]

Him old and young Exploded, and seized with violent hands. --Milton.

2. To bring into disrepute, and reject; to drive from notice and acceptance; as, to explode a scheme, fashion, or doctrine.

Old exploded contrivances of mercantile fraud. --Burke.

To explode and exterminate dark atheism. --Bently.

3. To cause to explode or burst noisily; to detonate; as, to explode powder by touching it with fire.

4. To drive out with violence and noise, as by powder.

But late the kindled powder did explode The massy ball and the brass tube unload. --Blackmore.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : explode
Spanish: (hacer) explotar,
German: explodieren (lassen),
Japanese: 爆発する
More Translations »

explode 
1538, 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. Eng. used it to mean "drive out with violence and sudden noise" (1660), later, "go off with a loud noise" (Amer.Eng. 1790); sense of "to burst with destructive force" is first recorded 1882; of population, 1959.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ex·plode
Pronunciation: ik-'splOd
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: ex·plod·ed; ex·plod·ing
transitive senses
: to cause to explode or burst noisily <explode dynamite> <explode a bomb> explode intransitive senses
: toundergo a rapid chemical or nuclear reaction with the production of noise, heat, and violent expansion of gases explodes> explodes>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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