Definition of explosion in English:


Line breaks: ex¦plo|sion
Pronunciation: /ɪkˈspləʊʒ(ə)n
, ɛk-/


1A violent shattering or blowing apart of something, as is caused by a bomb: three explosions damaged buildings at the barracks an explosion of methane gas
More example sentences
  • A medic had found her on the platform near one of the commuter trains that had been ripped apart by twin bomb explosions.
  • The peace in the town was shattered by the explosion, which blew out doors and windows and sprayed glass across the street.
  • In the northern province, a bomb explosion damaged an oil pipeline.
bang, blast, boom, rumble, crash, crack, report, thunder, roll, clap, pop
informal wham, whump
literary fulmination
1.1 technical A violent expansion in which energy is transmitted outwards as a shock wave.
More example sentences
  • The researchers also plan to measure the speed of the explosion's shock wave to get further data.
  • When massive stars die, most of their energy is released as neutrinos in violent supernova explosions.
  • They carry a large fraction of the kinetic energy of the explosions of very massive stars.
2A sudden outburst of something such as violent emotion, especially anger: an explosion of anger inside the factory
More example sentences
  • Finding oneself faced by danger, difficulties, sudden outburst or an explosion of anger, one shouldn't react quickly.
  • Jason couldn't understand her sudden explosion of anger and he knew there had to be more to what was bothering her than the spider prank.
  • Described as powerful, domineering and charismatic, he alternated affection with explosions of anger that terrified children and staff.
3A sudden increase in amount or extent: an explosion in the adder population
More example sentences
  • Directly, the explosion in house prices and the sustained increases in rents is driving up the cost of living and exerting pressure on pay demands.
  • Improving medical technology alone has led to an explosion in the amount of treatment and surgery that's not only possible, but deemed to be necessary.
  • Wine from the United States has seen a similar explosion in sales, increasing from £33.4m to almost £309m.
sudden increase, rapid increase, dramatic increase, mushrooming, snowballing, escalation, multiplication, burgeoning, rocketing, shooting up


early 17th century: from Latin explosio(n-) 'scornful rejection', from the verb explodere (see explode).

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Pronunciation: fləˈdʒɪʃəs
(of a person or their actions) criminal; villainous