explosion

noun

ek-SPLOH-zhuhn/ɛkˈsploʊ.ʒən/UKik-SPLOH-zhuhn/ɪkˈspləʊ.ʒən/

Pluralexplosions

3 meanings of explosion

1
nouncountable
A sudden burst of energy that breaks things apart, like when a bomb goes off.
Like a balloon popping, but with much more power and force.
The explosion broke windows all along the street.
Workers felt the ground shake after an explosion at the quarry.
Similarblast, detonation, burst
Oppositeimplosion
2
nouncountable
A sudden, very fast increase or growth in something.
Like popcorn popping: quiet at first, then suddenly happening everywhere at once.
The town saw an explosion in new houses after the factory opened.
There was an explosion of laughter when the clown fell over.
Similarsurge, boom, proliferation, upsurge, growth
Oppositedecline, collapse
3
nouncountable
The loud bang you hear when something blows up.
We heard the explosion from three streets away.
The explosion was so loud that it woke the whole neighborhood.
Similarbang, boom, blast, report

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Latin, from a word meaning to drive out by clapping, and reached English through French.