v. 1 a intr. (of gas, gunpowder, a bomb, a boiler, etc.) expand suddenly with a loud noise owing to a release of internal energy. b tr. cause (a bomb etc.) to explode. 2 intr. give vent suddenly to emotion, esp. anger. 3 intr. (of a population etc.) increase suddenly or rapidly. 4 tr. show (a theory etc.) to be false or baseless. 5 tr. (as exploded adj.) (of a drawing etc.) showing the components of a mechanism as if separated by an explosion but in the normal relative positions. exploder n.
[ earliest in sense 4: L explodere hiss off the stage (as EX-(1), plodere plos- = plaudere clap) ]