Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definition: Explode |
ExplodeVerb1. Cause to explode; "We exploded the nuclear bomb". 2. Burst outward, usually with noise; "The champagne bottle exploded". 3. Show a violent emotional reaction; "The boss exploded when he heard of the resignation of the secretary". 4. Be unleashed; burst forth with violence or noise, as of an emotion or an expression of emotion; "His anger exploded". 5. "I could hear rifles explode". 6. Destroy by exploding: "The enemy exploded the bridge". 7. Cause to burst as a result of air pressure; of stop consonants like /p/, /t/, and /k/. 8. Drive from the stage by noisy disapproval. 9. Show to be baseless, or refute and make obsolete, as of a new theory or claim. 10. : increase rapidly and in an uncontrolled manner; "The population of India is exploding". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "explode" was first used: 1538. (references) |
Note: Explode \Ex*plode"\, intransitive verb [imperfect & past participle. Exploded; Exploding.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Multilingual Slang | German (abrauchen). (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: ExplodeSynonyms: blow up (v), break loose (v), burst (v), burst forth (v), detonate (v), set off (v). (additional references) |
| Antonym: implode (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Ascent | Go aloft, fly aloft; tower, soar, take off; spring up, pop up, jump up, catapult upwards, explode upwards; hover, spire, plane, swim, float, surge; leap. |
Confutation | Verb: confute, refute, disprove; parry, negative, controvert, rebut, confound, disconfirm, redargue, expose, show the fallacy of, defeat; demolish, break; (destroy); overthrow, overturn scatter to the winds, explode, invalidate; silence; put to silence, reduce to silence; clinch an argument, clinch a question; give one a setdown, stop the mouth, shut up; have, have on the hip. |
Excitability | Lose one's temper; break out, burst out, fly out; go off, fly off, fly off at a tangent, fly off the handle, lose one's cool; explode, flare up, flame up, fire up, burst into a flame, take fire, fire, burn; boil, boil over; foam, fume, rage, rave, rant, tear; go wild, run wild, run mad, go into hysterics; run riot, run amuck; battre la campagne, faire le diable a quatre, play the deuce. |
Failure | Be all over with, be all up with; explode; dash one's hopes; (disappoint); defeat the purpose; sow the wind and reap the whirlwind, jump out of the frying pan into the fire, go from the frying pan into the fire. |
Violence | Explode; let fly, fly off; discharge, detonate, set off, detonize, fulminate. |
Break out, fly out, burst out; bounce, explode, go off, displode, fly, detonate, thunder, blow up, crump, flash, flare, burst; shock, strain; break open, force open, prize open. | |
Explode, make a row, kick up a row; boil, boil over; fume, foam, come on like a lion, bluster, rage, roar, fly off the handle, go bananas, go ape, blow one's top, blow one's cool, flip one's lid, hit the ceiling, hit the roof; fly into a rage (anger). | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Explode |
| English words defined with "explode": Blind shell, blow up, bullrush, bulrush ♦ car bomb, cat's-tail, crump ♦ detonate, Detonating primer, Detonize, Displode ♦ explosive ♦ fulminate ♦ infernal machine ♦ meteor ♦ nailrod ♦ Oil test ♦ Percussion cap ♦ reed mace, reedmace ♦ set off, shooting star ♦ time-fuse, To blow up, Typha latifolia ♦ Uncapper. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "explode": BURNING-PLANT OPERATOR ♦ coal dust, core driller ♦ explosive antimony, explosive sensitiveness ♦ failed hole ♦ Gas Lamps, gun perforator ♦ Household Hazardous Waste, hung shot ♦ Inherent Vice ♦ oil-well gun-perforator operator ♦ PARNELL, PERFORATOR OPERATOR, OIL WELL, pop a boulder ♦ QL ♦ ROTARY DRILLER ♦ self-destruct system, short-delay blasting ♦ well driller. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "explode": Explosion. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | People just explode. Natural causes (Repo Man; writing credit: Alex Cox) I need them or I will explode! That happens to me sometimes (Invader ZIM; writing credit: Carel Donck) The moon is bright over Lebanon tonight, the Lebanese moon looks down, shim sham shacam, cattle explode, cow shrapnel drips off tree into mother's tear for little boy who goes on into battle and comes back dead, or worse, a man . (The Kids in the Hall; writing credit: Dave Foley; Bruce McCulloch) I'd like to do a drug that makes my penis small, makes my nose bleed, makes my heart explode, and sucks all my money out of the bank (Denis Leary: No Cure for Cancer; writing credit: Denis Leary) Besides, Russia was ready to explode. All we did was give it a little push (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer) | |
Lyrics | I started to explode (Last Night; performing artist: Az Yet) And it's gettin' ready to explode (LOVE IS IN CONTROL; performing artist: Donna Summer) And explode into space ("Born to be Wild"; performing artist: Steppenwolf) I feel the night explode when we're together (Tell It To My Heart; performing artist: Taylor Dayne) We watched the world explode (My Way Out; performing artist: Usher) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Explode Coração (1995) Nice Girls Don't Explode (1987) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
![]() | The forward magazines of USS Arizona (BB-39) explode after she was hit by a Japanese bomb, Dec. 7, 1941. Frame clipped from a color motion picture taken from on board USS Solace (AH-5). (Navy archive photo). | ![]() | The forward magazines of USS Arizona (BB-39) explode after she was hit by a Japanese bomb, 7 December 1941. Frame clipped from a color motion picture taken from on board USS Solace (AH-5). Credit: NAVY. |
![]() | A Japanese "Zeke" airplane splashes into the sea astern of USS Vincennes (CL-64), during an attack on Task Group 58.1 off Okinawa on 6 April 1945. The original caption states: "Broadness of splash indicates plane either had no bomb, or that it did not explode, as tall, thin column, characteristic of bomb explosion, is missing." Photographed from USS Miami (CL-89). Credit: NAVY. | ![]() | "On the morning of March 27, 1945 during Okinawa preparations four suicide planes attacked the light cruiser USS Biloxi. Three were shot down in flames but the fourth broke through the umbrella of ack-ack to smash itself against the cruiser's side. Later investigation revealed a 500-kilogram bomb which failed to explode. Rendered harmless, the bomb became the prized possession of the quarterdeck where it is shown being examined by Major Anthony V. Ragusin (right) of Biloxi, Miss., and Ensign Jack Fisher, USNR, of Natchitoches, La., both of whom are attached to the staff of the Commander in Chief Pacific Ocean Areas." (Quoted from the original caption released with this photograph on 7 September 1945.). Credit: NAVY. |
![]() | Woodrow Wilson relaxing on a hammock while fire crackers "Mulhall," "Lamar," "T.R. Roast," and "Lobby" explode around him. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | Eagle in top hat and lion wearing a crown sit at a picnic holding champagne glasses while fire crackers explode between them. Credit: Library of Congress. |
![]() | You'll see it explode before your eyes! [...] I was a communist for the F.B.I. Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Play | Caption | Play | Caption |
| Bomb; explode; explosion; atom bomb; bombshell; charge; device; explosive; grenade; hydrogen bomb; mine; missile; nuclear bomb; projectile; rocket; shell; ticker; torpedo; submarine. | Bomb; bombs; blast; blasting; explode; exploding; explosion. | ||
| Explode; bang; . | Explode; explosion; disappear; vanish; diffuse; dissipate; dissipating; diffusing; . | ||
| Pop; popping; bubble; bubbly; bubble bath; soap; detergent; washing; explode; exploding; burst; break. | |||
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Last Chance To See | Douglas Adams | The problem arises when the cockerels get confused as to when dawn actually is. They suddenly explode into life, sqwaking and screaming at about one o'clock in the morning |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | Norwegian travel industry sources say they expect Internet travel bookings to rise by 3 to 5 percent of sales within the next year and will explode to 30 percent within the next three years. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | Truman was president, and I don't think anybody in America wants us to let it explode again. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Explode" is generally used as a lexical verb (infinitive) -- approximately 87.12% of the time. "Explode" is used about 326 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 87.12% | 284 | 17,292 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 8.59% | 28 | 65,706 |
| Noun (singular) | 4.29% | 14 | 93,893 |
| Total | 100.00% | 326 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "explode": explode with fury ♦ explode with laughter ♦ explode with rage ♦ make explode ♦ to explode. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "explode": re-explode. | |
Containing "explode": i-am-about-to-explode-in-front-of-your-very-eyes. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "explode"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | shpërthej (blast, blow up, break, break out, burst, detonate, erupt, flame out, flame up, freak, implode, let off, poke out), shkatërroj (bash up, blow away, break to pieces, bust up, cast down, consume, crock, dash, decimate, defeat, demolish, depauperate, depredate, destroy, do for, do in, eat, erode, flatten, gut, kill, level, rase, ravage, raze, rout, ruin, shake down, shatter, sink, smash, smite, subvert, take away, tear to pieces, throw down, trample down, unbuild, vandalize, wreck, zap), pëlcas (blow back, blow up, burst, detonate, discharge, rip). (various references) | |
Arabic | فجر (aurora, beginning, blast, blow up, burst, dawn, detonate, dynamite, let flow, morning, set off, shot out, spout, spurt, undermine), فرقع (crack, crackle, crepitate, pop, pop up, snap, sputter, squib, torpedo), تفجر (burst, detonate, fulminate, gush, outburst, spurt, well), تفرقع (explosion), سفه رأيا. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | оборвам (controvert, meet, rebut, refute, repulse), експлодирам (blow off, blow up, bust, detonate, fulminate), пуквам (break, crack, crackle, flaw, kick in, peg out, pop, pop off, snuff out, spring), избухвам (blaze, blow, blow up, break forth, burst out, erupt, fire, flash, fly into a rage, fulminate, go off the deep end, lose one's temper, pop off), дискредитирам (blow on, discredit, impeach, sully). (various references) | |
Chinese | 炸 (fry), 爆炸 (blowup, Burst, Detonation, Exploded, Exploding, Explosion). (various references) | |
Czech | explodovat (burst, detonate, go off), ztrhat (maul), vyvrátit (confute, dispel, disprove, falsify, rebut, refute), vyhodit do vzduchu (blast), vybuchnout (blow up, break out, detonate, erupt, go bang, go off, pop off), rozrùst, odpálit (blast off, detonate, drive smth. in, launch, spring, touch off). (various references) | |
Danish | eksplodere (to blow up, to burst, to explode, to go off). (various references) | |
Dutch | ontploffen (to blast, to blow up, to burst, to explode, to go off), losbarsten, exploderen (to blow up, to burst, to explode, to go off). (various references) | |
Esperanto | eksplodi. (various references) | |
Faeroese | bresta (burst, crack). (various references) | |
Farsi | منفجرشدن (Blowout, Detonate, Erupt, Puff), منبسطکردن (Expand, Extend, Rarefy, Stretch), محترق شدن , گسترده کردن , ترکیدن (Blow, Blowout, Burst, Crack, Dehisce, Pop, Reave, Rive, Rupture). (various references) | |
Finnish | räjähtää (blow up). (various references) | |
French | exploser (explose). (various references) | |
Frisian | ûntploffe. (various references) | |
German | platzen (blow out, bounce, break up, burst, collapse, crack, fall down, fall through, split, to burst), explodieren (blow, blow up, detonate, erupt, to detonate, to explode). (various references) | |
Greek | εκρηγνύω (set off), εκρηγνύομαι (burst), εκρήγνυμαι (blast, blow up, detonate, erupt, go off), ανατινάζω (blow up). (various references) | |
Hebrew | לפוצץ (blast, blow, blow up, bust, detonate, let off), ל"תפוצץ (blast, burst, bust, detonate, go off), ל פץ (dash, detonate, pound, shatter, shipwreck, smash, splinter), "תפוצץ (burst). (various references) | |
Hungarian | robban (burst, detonate, fulminate, to bust, to detonate, to fire, to fulminate), felrobban (blow off, go off, to blow up, to bust, to detonate, to explode, to go off). (various references) | |
Indonesian | membeludak, meledakkan (burst, detonate), berdetupan, berdetup. (various references) | |
Italian | esplodere (bang, burst, complete), esplòdere (blow up), sfatare, screditare (attack, depreciate, discredit, disparage, lose credit), scoppiare (bang, blow, break, break out, burst, erupt, pop, puncture), far esplodere (blast). (various references) | |
Korean | 폭발하십시". (various references) | |
Manx | prow dy ve neuchiart, poltal (banging, clap, clapping, rap, thump), fosley (answer, answer door, broach as cargo; overture, broach; overture, burst, develop, disclose, disillusion, introduction, lane, lane in ice field, open, open out, open up, opening, orifice, passage, placket hole, slit, strike out, unbosom, unclench, unhook, unhook as clothing), bleaystey (blast, blow out; explosion, detonate, detonation, dynamite). (various references) | |
Norwegian | eksplodere. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | explodeay.(various references) | |
Polish | wybuchnąć. (various references) | |
Portuguese | explodir (blast, burst, fulminate, go). (various references) | |
Romanian | exploda (blast, blow out, blow up, burst, detonate, fulminate, go bang, go off, go up). (various references) | |
Russian | взрывать (blast, blow up, detonate, implode, shoot, touch off). (various references) | |
Scottish | blosg. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | eksplodirati (detonate, go off). (various references) | |
Spanish | estallar (bang, blow up, break, break forth, break out, burst, crack, detonate, erupt, flare up, go off, go up, outbreak, puncture, shatter). (various references) | |
Swedish | explodera (blow up, burst, detonate, fulminate). (various references) | |
Turkish | yıkmak (batter down, blast, blow down, break down, confound, dash, demolish, destroy, do for, drag down, extinguish, housebreak, knock down, knock over, level, overthrow, pull dawn, puncture, ravage, ruin, shatter, shoot down, split, subvert, take down, unbuild), patlatmak (blast, blow up, bust, detonate, let off, make blow up, make burst, make explode, pop, puncture, set off, touch off), patlamak (blow, blow out, blow up, break, burst, crack, detonate, erupt, fulminate, go off, go pop, go up, knock back, let fly, plonk, plunk, pop, puncture, set back, snap, spring), patlak vermek (blow up, break out, burst, burst out, erupt, outcrop), köpürmek (be hopping mad, boil, boil over, bubble, churn, cream, effervesce, fizz, fly off the handle, foam, froth, lather, rage, ramp, ramp and rage, seethe, sparkle, yeast), kırılmak (be broken, be hurt, be offended, be piqued at, break, break off, chip, crash, crush, fracture, go to pieces, offend, Rive, shatter, sink, snap), infilak etmek (blow up, burst, detonate, go pop, spring), havaya uçurmak (blast, blow up), bozmak (abash, abolish, adulterate, affect, alloy, annihilate, annul, baffle, ball up, barbarize, bedevil, blemish, botch, break, break down, break off, break on, bugger, bugger up, bust, cash, change, circumvent, confound, confuse, contaminate, corrupt, cross, damage, debase, debauch, decay, declare off, deface, defile, destroy, deteriorate, disappoint, disarray, discolor, discolour, discomfit, discomfort, discompose, discountenance, dislocate, dismount, disorder, disrupt, dissolve, distort, disturb, downgrade, emasculate, embarrass, embroil, exchange, fluff, foil, foul, foul up, fumble, garble, goof, goof up, gum up, Harry, impair, indispose, infect, infringe, lead astray, leaven, mangle, Mar, mess, murder, muss, mutilate, obliterate, pervert, pollute, put out, put out of action, put to shame, quash, queer, rattle, reverse, rot, ruffle, ruin, scotch, scupper, shatter, sour, spoil, stymie, taint, thwart, tousle, tumble, undo, unmake, upset, violate, vitiate, whittle away, whittle down, whittle off, wreck), aksini ispatlamak (confute, disproof, negate, refute), çürütmek (canker, cause to rot, confute, controvert, contuse, corrode, corrupt, decay, decompose, disproof, disprove, molder, moulder, pick to pieces, putrefy, rebut, refute, rot, stultify). (various references) | |
Turkmen | partlamak, яarylmak (split), яarmak (blow up, cut up). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | руйнувати (attack, baffle, blight, cast down, confound, demolish, destroy, devour, dilapidate, disappoint, havoc, ruin, shake down, wrack, wreck), вибухати (break, burst, detonate), підривати (blast, cave, detonate, disrupt, erode, fulminate, sap, tear up, undermine). (various references) | |
Welsh | ffrwydro. (various references) | |
Yucatec | waak'al. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | explodere. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "explode": exploded, exploder, exploders, explodes. (additional references) | |
Words containing "explode": unexploded. (additional references) | |
| |
"Explode" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: eggsplene, esplose, exlude, expla, explods, exploid, exploide, explose, exsplode. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "explode" (pronounced iksplō"d) |
| 4 | -p l ō" d | implode. |
| 3 | -l ō" d | blowed, busload, load, lode, flowed, glowed, overflowed, reload, slowed, unload. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "d-e-e-l-o-p-x" | |
-1 letter: eloped. | |
-2 letters: elope, epode, expel, loped, loxed, poled, poxed. | |
-3 letters: deep, dele, dole, dope, expo, lode, lope, oped, peed, peel, pele, pled, plod, pole. | |
-4 letters: dee, del, dex, doe, dol, eel, eld, led, lee, lex, lop, lox, ode, old, ole, ope, ped, pee, pod, pol, pox. | |
-5 letters: de, do, ed, el, ex, lo, od, oe. | |
| Words containing the letters "d-e-e-l-o-p-x" | |
+1 letter: exploded, exploder, explodes, explored, poleaxed. | |
+2 letters: complexed, exploders, exploited. | |
+3 letters: reexplored, unexploded, unexplored. | |
+4 letters: unexploited. | |
+5 letters: complexified, complexioned, expostulated, extrapolated, heteroduplex, hexaploidies. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Sounds | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Quotations: Speeches 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.