ikˈsplōd, ek- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin explodere, explaudere, from ex- ex- (I) + plodere, plaudere to clap, applaud
transitive verb
1. archaic : to drive from the stage by noisy disapproval : hoot off
2. : to expose decisively the hollowness or invalidity of : bring into disrepute or discredit
exploding conventional theories of courtship and marriage — H.L.Myers
explode a rumor
3.
a. : to cause to explode or burst noisily : detonate
explode powder
explode a bomb
b. : to cause the fibers of (wood chips) to separate into pulp under high steam pressure which is suddenly released
c. : to hit (a golf ball) out of a sand trap with an explosion shot
d. : to separate the covers and panes or leaves of (a stamp booklet) by removing the staples
e. : to utter with explosion (sense 2d)
intransitive verb
1.
a.
(1) : to undergo rapid combustion with sudden release of energy in the form of heat that causes violent expansion of the gases formed and consequent production of great disruptive pressure and a loud noise
dynamite explodes
(2) : to undergo an atomic nuclear reaction with similar but more violent results
an atom bomb explodes
(3) : to burst violently as a reuslt of pressure from within
a steam boiler may explode
b. : to hit a golf ball out of a sand trap with an explosion shot
2. : to give a sudden, strong, and usually noisy release to an emotion : burst forth
exploded with wrath
race tension was exploding all around us — H.W.Young
he is apt to explode into picturesque profanity — Carl Markwith
3. : to resound with a sudden loud noise
4. : to shatter especially with a loud report
threw a glass on the stone floor and it exploded like a shot — Jean Stafford
5. : to suggest an explosion (as in appearance or effect)
clay jars exploded with bouquets — Jack Kerouac
a clever aphorism … explodes with a brilliant shower of sparks — V.L.Parrington
the road inches deep in rough ice and the blizzard exploding in the middle of the windshield — Joyce Cary
when your fist explodes against the target — Jack Dempsey
6.
a. : to change state or appearance expansively and suddenly or rapidly
touched by a flicker of flame, the parched woods explode — W.B.Greeley
: break or burst forth
maples have exploded into clouds of rosy buds — Walter O'Meara
explode into a grin
suburbs are exploding outward — New Republic
b. : to come to a sudden violent breaking point or point of release
this situation at last explodes in an overt action — Howard Nemerov
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- explode a bombshell