explode

Verb

Verb Forms: exploded, exploding, explodes

To burst or shatter violently from internal pressure.
cause to burst with a violent release of energy
- "We exploded the nuclear bomb"
burst outward, usually with noise
- "The champagne bottle exploded"
show a violent emotional reaction
- "The boss exploded when he heard of the resignation of the secretary"
be unleashed; emerge with violence or noise
- "His anger exploded"
destroy by exploding
- "The enemy exploded the bridge"
cause to burst as a result of air pressure; of stop consonants like /p/, /t/, and /k/
drive from the stage by noisy disapproval
show (a theory or claim) to be baseless, or refute and make obsolete
burst and release energy as through a violent chemical or physical reaction
- "The Molotov cocktail exploded"
increase rapidly and in an uncontrolled manner
To destroy with an explosion.
To destroy violently or abruptly.
To create an exploded view of.
To disprove or debunk.
To fly apart with sudden violent force; to blow up, to burst, to detonate, to go off.
To make a violent or emotional outburst; to suddenly give expression to powerful and often negative or unpleasant emotion, especially anger.
To increase suddenly.
To increase arbitrarily or boundlessly.
To emerge suddenly.
To ejaculate.
To break (a delimited string of text) into several smaller strings by removing the separators.
To decompress (data) that was previously imploded.
To open all doors and hatches on an automobile.
Of a die, to produce the highest face result and consequently reroll.

Examples

Explode the assembly drawing so that all the fasteners are visible.
His opponent’s score seemed to explode after playing a triple-triple bingo.
She exploded when I criticised her hat.
The assassin exploded the car by means of a car bomb.
The bomb explodes.
The function f(x) = 1/x explodes around x = 0.
They sought to explode the myth.
to explode into the mainstream; to explode onto the scene

Origin / Etymology

First recorded around 1538, from the Latin verb explōdere (“drive out or off by clapping”). The meaning was originally theatrical, "to drive an actor off the stage by making noise," hence meaning to "to drive out" or "to reject". From ex- (“out”) + plaudere (“to clap; to applaud”). In English it used to mean to "drive out with violence and sudden noise" (from around 1660), and later meaning to "go off with a loud noise" (from around 1790). The sense of "bursting with destructive force" is first recorded around 1882.

Synonyms

blow up, break loose, burst, burst forth, detonate, irrupt, set off, asplode, blast, blow, displode, dynamite, explode, fulminate, go off, let off, nuke, rive, split, unstring

Antonyms

implode

Scrabble Score: 17

explode: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
explode: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
explode: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 19

explode: valid Words With Friends Word