BOMB

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does bomb mean? 

• BOMB (noun)
  The noun BOMB has 3 senses:

1. an explosive device fused to explode under specific conditions

2. strong sealed vessel for measuring heat of combustion

3. an event that fails badly or is totally ineffectual

  Familiarity information: BOMB used as a noun is uncommon.

• BOMB (verb)
  The verb BOMB has 2 senses:

1. throw bombs at or attack with bombs

2. fail to get a passing grade

  Familiarity information: BOMB used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BOMB (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An explosive device fused to explode under specific conditions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bomb" is a kind of...):

arms; implements of war; munition; weaponry; weapons system (weapons considered collectively)

explosive device (device that bursts with sudden violence from internal energy)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bomb"):

balloon bomb; Fugo (a bomb carried by a balloon)

infernal machine; time bomb (a bomb that has a detonating mechanism that can be set to go off at a particular time)

aerosol bomb; fuel-air bomb; thermobaric bomb; vacuum bomb; volume-detonation bomb (a bomb that uses a fuel-air explosive)

stench bomb; stink bomb (a small bomb designed to give off a foul odor when it explodes)

smoke bomb; smoke grenade (a bomb that gives off thick smoke when it explodes; used to make a smoke screen or to mark a position)

smart bomb (a bomb that can be guided (by a laser beam or radio) to its target)

remote-control bomb (a bomb that can be detonated by remote control)

plastic bomb (a bomb made of plastic explosive)

pipe bomb (a small homemade bomb usually contained in a metal pipe)

penetration bomb (a bomb with about 30% explosive and a casing designed to penetrate hardened targets before the explosive detonates)

E-bomb; microwave bomb (a bomb that explodes in midair and releases a massive burst of electromagnetic energy sufficient to disable computers and telecommunications without killing people or damaging buildings)

megaton bomb (a nuclear weapon with an explosive power equivalent to one million tons of TNT)

letter bomb; package bomb; parcel bomb (a thin explosive device inside an envelope or package and detonated when opened)

firebomb; incendiary; incendiary bomb (a bomb that is designed to start fires; is most effective against flammable targets (such as fuel))

fusion bomb; H-bomb; hydrogen bomb; thermonuclear bomb (a nuclear weapon that releases atomic energy by union of light (hydrogen) nuclei at high temperatures to form helium)

general-purpose bomb; GP bomb (a large bomb (500 to 2,000 pounds that is 50% explosive) whose explosion creates a blast and whose metal casing creates some fragmentation effect)

A-bomb; atom bomb; atomic bomb; fission bomb; plutonium bomb (a nuclear weapon in which enormous energy is released by nuclear fission (splitting the nuclei of a heavy element like uranium 235 or plutonium 239))

bomblet; cluster bomblet (one of the smaller bombs that are released from a cluster bomb)

bombshell (an explosive bomb or artillery shell)

briefcase bomb (a bomb consisting of an explosive and timer hidden inside a briefcase)

car bomb (a bomb placed in a car and wired to explode when the ignition is started or by remote control or by a timing device)

chemical bomb; gas bomb (a bomb laden with chemical agents that are released when the bomb explodes)

cruise missile (an unmanned aircraft that is a self-contained bomb)

depth bomb; depth charge (a bomb that explodes at a preset depth under water; antisubmarine device)

dumb bomb; gravity bomb (a bomb that falls because of gravity and is not guided to a target)

anti-personnel bomb; antipersonnel bomb; daisy cutter; fragmentation bomb (a bomb with only 10 to 20 per cent explosive and the remainder consisting of casings designed to break into many small high-velocity fragments; most effective against troops and vehicles)

gas shell ((military) bomb consisting of an explosive projectile filled with a toxic gas that is released when the bomb explodes)

grenade (a small explosive bomb thrown by hand or fired from a missile)

cluster bomb (bomb consisting of a canister that is dropped from a plane and that opens to release a cluster of bomblets (usually fragmentation bombs) over a wide area)

Derivation:

bomb (throw bombs at or attack with bombs)

bomblet (one of the smaller bombs that are released from a cluster bomb)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Strong sealed vessel for measuring heat of combustion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bomb; bomb calorimeter

Hypernyms ("bomb" is a kind of...):

calorimeter (a measuring instrument that determines quantities of heat)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An event that fails badly or is totally ineffectual

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

bomb; dud; turkey

Context example:

the meeting was a dud as far as new business was concerned

Hypernyms ("bomb" is a kind of...):

bust; fizzle; flop (a complete failure)

Derivation:

bomb (fail to get a passing grade)

• BOMB (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they bomb    ... he / she / it bombs   
Past simple: bombed   
Past participle: bombed   
-ing form: bombing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Throw bombs at or attack with bombs

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

bomb; bombard

Context example:

The Americans bombed Dresden

Hypernyms (to "bomb" is one way to...):

assail; attack (launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bomb"):

blast; shell (use explosives on)

firebomb (attack with incendiary bombs)

letter bomb (send an explosive to)

atomise; atomize; nuke; zap (strike at with firepower or bombs)

pattern-bomb (bomb in certain patterns)

hydrogen-bomb (attack with a hydrogen bomb)

atom-bomb; nuke (bomb with atomic weapons)

skip-bomb (attack with delayed release bombs)

glide-bomb (bomb by gliding)

dive-bomb (bomb from a diving airplane)

bomb out (make somebody homeless by destroying their houses with bombs)

carpet bomb (bomb a large area systematically and extensively)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

bomb (an explosive device fused to explode under specific conditions)

bomber (a military aircraft that drops bombs during flight)

bomber (a person who plants bombs)

bombing (an attack by dropping bombs)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fail to get a passing grade

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

bomb; fail; flunk; flush it

Context example:

Did I fail the test?

Verb group:

fail (fall short in what is expected)

fail (judge unacceptable)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

bomb (an event that fails badly or is totally ineffectual)

 Context examples 

They likened TOP2-DPCs to ticking time bombs for cells.

(DNA damage caused by cancer treatment reversed by ZATT protein, National Institutes of Health)

Hexachloroethane was used as an anthelmintic to treat fascioliasis in cattle and sheep, in refining aluminum alloys, in smoke bombs and pyrotechnic and as a degassing agent and polymer additive.

(Hexachloroethane, NCI Thesaurus)

But the creatures ran off a second time, before I could seize them; whereupon there was a great shout in a very shrill accent, and after it ceased I heard one of them cry aloud Tolgo phonac; when in an instant I felt above a hundred arrows discharged on my left hand, which, pricked me like so many needles; and besides, they shot another flight into the air, as we do bombs in Europe, whereof many, I suppose, fell on my body, (though I felt them not), and some on my face, which I immediately covered with my left hand.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Day after day the boats lowered and were swallowed up almost ere they touched the water, while we on board pumped the horn at regular intervals and every fifteen minutes fired the bomb gun.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)