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View synonyms for explode

explode

[ ik-splohd ]

verb (used without object)

, ex·plod·ed, ex·plod·ing.
  1. to expand with force and noise because of rapid chemical change or decomposition, as gunpowder or nitroglycerine ( 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, especially 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)

, ex·plod·ed, ex·plod·ing.
  1. to cause (gunpowder, a boiler, etc.) to explode.
  2. to cause to be rejected; destroy the repute of; discredit or disprove:

    to explode a theory.

  3. Phonetics. to end with plosion.
  4. Golf. to play an explosion shot on (a golf ball).
  5. Obsolete. to drive (a player, play, etc.) from the stage by loud expressions of disapprobation.

explode

/ ɪkˈspləʊd /

verb

  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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • exˈploder, noun
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Other Words From

  • ex·ploder noun
  • preex·plode verb preexploded preexploding
  • unex·ploded adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of explode1

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin explōdere “to drive off by clapping, drive away,” from ex- ex- 1 + -plōdere, variant stem of plaudere “to clap” ( applaud )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of explode1

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

The moment exploded on social media, inspiring jokes, memes and a surprise resurgence of the 2017 single onto Twitter’s trending topics.

The hype around cloud database developer Snowflake exploded on Wednesday, as the company’s shares more than doubled in value on their first day of trading after a high-profile initial public offering.

From Fortune

From Santa Cruz to Lake Tahoe, thousands of bolts of electricity exploded down onto withered grasslands and forests, some of them already hollowed out by climate-driven infestations of beetles and kiln-dried by the worst five-year drought on record.

While the app’s design and ability to foster a creative community caused it to surge onto the social media scene, it’s exploding because of the way it gathers and harnesses data to enhance the user experience.

Warren said the exploding number of cases at Metropolitan has felt inevitable to defense attorneys since the pandemic started.

Angry Birds at its simplest was the same way, though you wanted to watch things collapse and explode.

In a dramatic twist on mistletoe reproduction, their seeds explode, literally.

It failed to explode, but U.S. officials knew they were lucky.

Markov tells The Daily Beast he expects the situation in eastern Ukraine to explode in the coming two days.

Add in fiery preaching by anti-gay zealots, often funded by American organizations, and you have a volatile brew ready to explode.

And now the time had come at which the hoarded illhumour of six months was at liberty to explode.

He had made and set adrift those powder kegs, fixing them so that they would explode on touching anything.

He feared to fill the balloon to its capacity lest the expansion of the gas due to the hot sun should explode it.

The gentleman who had named himself Dismuke puffed out his cheeks and looked as if he were about to explode.

He was fixing his eye on a spot in the floor as though he expected it to explode and blow them to fragments.

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