Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

volcanic bomb

 - 4 dictionary results

volcanic bomb

–noun Geology.
bomb (def. 3).

Origin:
1790–1800

bomb

[bom]
–noun
1. Military. a projectile, formerly usually spherical, filled with a bursting charge and exploded by means of a fuze, by impact, or otherwise, now generally designed to be dropped from an aircraft.
2. any similar missile or explosive device used as a weapon, to disperse crowds, etc.: a time bomb; a smoke bomb.
3. Also called volcanic bomb. Geology. a rough spherical or ellipsoidal mass of lava, ejected from a volcano and hardened while falling.
4. aerosol bomb.
5. Football. a long forward pass, esp. one to a teammate who scores a touchdown.
6. Slang.
a. an absolute failure; fiasco: The play was a bomb and closed after two performances.
b. Chiefly British. an overwhelming success: The novel is selling like a bomb.
7. Jazz. a sudden, unexpected accent or rhythmic figure played by a drummer during a performance.
8. a lead or lead-lined container for transporting and storing radioactive materials.
9. the bomb,
a. atomic bomb.
b. nuclear weapons collectively.
10. Computers. a spectacular program or system failure.
11. Slang. a powerful automobile or other vehicle.
–verb (used with object)
12. to hurl bombs at or drop bombs upon, as from an airplane; bombard: The enemy planes bombed the city.
13. to explode by means of a bomb or explosive.
14. Computers. to deliberately cause (a computer system) to fail with a program written for the purpose.
–verb (used without object)
15. to hurl or drop bombs.
16. to explode a bomb or bombs.
17. Slang. to be or make a complete failure, esp. to fail to please or gain an audience; flop (sometimes fol. by out): His last play bombed on Broadway. The business bombed out with a $25,000 debt.
18. (of a computer program or system) to fail spectacularly.
19. Informal. to move very quickly: They came bombing through here on their motorcycles at 2 a.m.

Origin:
1580–90; 1960–65 for def. 17; earlier bom(b)e < Sp bomba (de fuego) ball (of fire), akin to bombo drum < L bombus a booming sound < Gk bómbos


bombable, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To volcanic bomb
Slang Dictionary
bomb(shell)

  1. n.
    a stunning piece of news that is dropped without warning. (See also bomb.) : I am still recovering from your bombshell of last evening.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

bomb  (n.)
1588, from Fr. bombe, from It. bomba, probably from L. bombus "a buzzing or booming sound," from Gk. bombos "deep and hollow sound," echoic. Originally of mortar shells, etc.; modern sense of "explosive device placed by hand or dropped from airplane" is 1909. Meaning "old car" is from 1953. Meaning "success" is from 1954 (though late 1990s slang in the bomb "the best" is probably a fresh formation); opposite sense of "a failure" is from 1963. The bomb "atomic bomb" is from 1945. Bombshell in the fig. sense of "shattering or devastating thing or event" is from 1860; in ref. to a pretty woman (esp. a blonde) it is attested from 1942. Bomber as a type of military aircraft is from 1917. Bombed "drunk" is from 1959.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see volcanic bomb on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: