EXPLOSION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does explosion mean? 

• EXPLOSION (noun)
  The noun EXPLOSION has 7 senses:

1. a violent release of energy caused by a chemical or nuclear reaction

2. the act of exploding or bursting

3. a sudden great increase

4. the noise caused by an explosion

5. the terminal forced release of pressure built up during the occlusive phase of a stop consonant

6. a sudden outburst

7. a golf shot from a bunker that typically moves sand as well as the golf ball

  Familiarity information: EXPLOSION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EXPLOSION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A violent release of energy caused by a chemical or nuclear reaction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

blowup; detonation; explosion

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

discharge (the sudden giving off of energy)

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

airburst (an explosion in the atmosphere)

blast (an explosion (as of dynamite))

backfire (a loud noise made by the explosion of fuel in the manifold or exhaust of an internal combustion engine)

big bang ((cosmology) the cosmic explosion that is hypothesized to have marked the origin of the universe)

backfire; blowback (the backward escape of gases and unburned gunpowder after a gun is fired)

fragmentation (the scattering of bomb fragments after the bomb explodes)

inflation ((cosmology) a brief exponential expansion of the universe (faster than the speed of light) postulated to have occurred shortly after the big bang)

Derivation:

explode (cause to burst with a violent release of energy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of exploding or bursting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

burst; explosion

Context example:

the burst of an atom bomb creates enormous radiation aloft

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

change of integrity (the act of changing the unity or wholeness of something)

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

detonation (the act of detonating an explosive)

fulmination (the act of exploding with noise and violence)

Derivation:

explode (burst outward, usually with noise)

explode (cause to burst with a violent release of energy)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A sudden great increase

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Context example:

the information explosion

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

increase (a change resulting in an increase)

Derivation:

explode (increase rapidly and in an uncontrolled manner)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The noise caused by an explosion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Context example:

the explosion was heard a mile away

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

noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))

Sense 5

Meaning:

The terminal forced release of pressure built up during the occlusive phase of a stop consonant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

explosion; plosion

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

release; tone ending ((music) the act or manner of terminating a musical phrase or tone)

Holonyms ("explosion" is a part of...):

occlusive; plosive; plosive consonant; plosive speech sound; stop; stop consonant (a consonant produced by stopping the flow of air at some point and suddenly releasing it)

Derivation:

explode (cause to burst as a result of air pressure; of stop consonants like /p/, /t/, and /k/)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A sudden outburst

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

an explosion of rage

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

blowup; ebullition; effusion; gush; outburst (an unrestrained expression of emotion)

Derivation:

explode (be unleashed; emerge with violence or noise)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A golf shot from a bunker that typically moves sand as well as the golf ball

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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

golf shot; golf stroke; swing (the act of swinging a golf club at a golf ball and (usually) hitting it)

 Context examples 

The models suggests that explosions of warming nitrogen created basins in the moon's crust.

(New Models Suggest Titan Lakes Are Explosion Craters, NASA)

The resulting radio and X-ray emission provide clues as to the cause of the explosion.

(Trigger for Milky Way’s Youngest Supernova Identified, NASA)

Stellar explosions are most often associated with supernovae, the spectacular deaths of stars.

(ALMA Captures Dramatic Stellar Fireworks, ESO)

I had looked for almost any sort of explosion on the Cockney’s part, but to my surprise he did not appear aware of what I was doing.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Private space exploration company SpaceX has conducted its first successful launch since the explosion of a rocket on the launchpad in September.

(SpaceX Completes Successful Rocket Launch, VOA News)

“It is a one-in-a-million chance that you can predict an explosion. It has never been done before,” Molnar said.

(Star Explosion Could Change Night Sky, VOA News)

All heavy elements in the universe come from supernova explosions.

(Kepler Catches Early Flash of an Exploding Star, NASA)

The result of physical trauma sustained in an explosion.

(Blast Injury, NCI Thesaurus)

Injuries resulting when a person is struck by particles impelled with violent force from an explosion.

(Blast Injury, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

In modern times, astronomers have observed the debris field from this explosion − what is now known as Tycho’s supernova remnant.

(Chandra Movie Captures Expanding Debris from a Stellar Explosion, NASA)