• Bomb

    Pronunciation

    • AusE IPA: /bÉ”m/
    • UK IPA: /bÉ’m/
    • US IPA: /bÉ‘m/
    • Rhymes: -É’m
    • Homophones: balm (for speakers with the father-bother merger)

    Origin

    From French bombe, from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus ("a booming sound"), from Ancient Greek βόμβος (bombos, "booming, humming, buzzing"), imitative of the sound itself.

    Full definition of bomb

    Noun

    bomb

    (plural bombs)
    1. An explosive device used or intended as a weapon.
      • 2008, Sidney Gelb, Foreign Service Agent, page 629,The size of the ground hole crater from the blast indicates it was a bomb.
      1. (dated) The atomic bomb.
        During the Cold War, everyone worried about the bomb sometimes.
      2. (figurative) Events or conditions that have a speedy destructive effect.
    2. (slang) A failure; an unpopular commercial product.
      1. (US, Australia, informal) A car in poor condition.
    3. (UK, slang) A large amount of money, a fortune.
      make a bomb;  cost a bomb
    4. (social) Something highly effective or attractive.
      1. (chiefly British, slang) A success; the bomb.
        Our fabulous new crumpets have been selling like a bomb.
      2. (chiefly British, slang) A very attractive woman; a bombshell.
      3. (often in combination) An action or statement that causes a strong reaction.
        It was an ordinary speech, until the president dropped a bomb: he would be retiring for medical reasons.
        Normally very controlled, he dropped the F-bomb and cursed the paparazzi.
      4. (American football, slang) A long forward pass.
      5. (informal) A jump into water in a squatting position, with the arms wrapped around the legs, for maximum splashing.
    5. (chemistry) A heavy-walled container designed to permit chemical reactions under high pressure.
      • 2008, François Cardarelli, Materials Handbook: A Concise Desktop Reference, page 276,The process consisted in preparing the metal by metallothermic reduction of titanium tetrachloride with sodium metal in a steel bomb.
    6. (obsolete) A great booming noise; a hollow sound.
      • Francis Bacon (1561-1626)A pillar of iron...which if you had struck, would make...a great bomb in the chamber beneath.

    Usage notes

    The diametrical slang meanings are somewhat distinguishable by the article. For “a success”, the phrase is generally the bomb. Otherwise bomb can mean “a failure”.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Terms derived from bomb (noun)

    Verb

    1. (transitive, intransitive) To attack using one or more bombs; to bombard.
    2. (intransitive, slang) To fail dismally.
    3. (informal) To jump into water in a squatting position, with the arms wrapped around the legs.
    4. (obsolete) To sound; to boom; to make a humming or buzzing sound.
    5. (slang) To cover an area in many graffiti tags.
      • 2009, Scape Martinez, GRAFF: The Art & Technique of Graffiti (page 124)It is often used to collect other writer's tags, and future plans for bombing and piecing.
    6. (informal, AU) to add an excessive amount of chlorine to a pool when it has not been maintained properly.

    Derived terms

    Adjective

    bomb

    1. (slang) Great, awesome.Have you tried the new tacos from that restaurant? They're pretty bomb!
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