verb
1 blow up
ADVERB
▪ simultaneously
▪
20 bombs ~d almost simultaneously.
▪ accidentally , prematurely
▪
A bomb might ~ prematurely.
▪ spectacularly , violently
▪ outwards/outward , upwards/upward
VERB + EXPLODE
▪ fail to
▪
A blast bomb was thrown but the device failed to ~.
2 get angry/dangerous/moving
ADVERB
▪ literally
▪ nearly , practically
▪
My heart was nearly exploding in fright.
▪
Jessie practically ~d with laughter.
▪ suddenly
▪ finally
VERB + EXPLODE
▪ be about to , be ready to , be set to
▪
A disagreement over public spending is set to ~.
▪ be liable to , be likely to
▪ seem to
PREPOSITION
▪ into
▪
He suddenly ~d into action.
▪ with
▪
She literally ~d with anger.
Explode is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ boiler , ↑ bomb , ↑ dynamite , ↑ firework , ↑ grenade , ↑ jet , ↑ mine , ↑ mortar , ↑ rocket , ↑ shell
Explode is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ bomb , ↑ myth