bomb

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See also:BOMB,Bomb,andthe bomb

English

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A bomb (explosive device).

Etymology

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FromFrenchbombe,fromItalianbomba,fromLatinbombus(“a booming sound”),fromAncient Greekβόμβος(bómbos,“booming, humming, buzzing”),imitativeof the sound itself.Doubletofbombe.Compareboom.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bomb(pluralbombs)

  1. Anexplosivedeviceused or intended as aweapon,(especially)onedroppedfrom anaircraft.
    • 2008,Sidney Gelb,Foreign Service Agent,page629:
      The size of the ground hole crater from the blast indicates it was abomb.
    1. (dated,often withthe)Theatomic bomb.
      During the Cold War, everyone worried about thebombsometimes.
    2. (figurative)Events or conditions that have aspeedydestructiveeffect.
    3. (archaic)Amortarshell.
    4. (historical,archaic)Ellipsisofbomb ship.
    5. (colloquial)Anyexplosivecharge.
  2. (slang)Afailure;anunpopularcommercial product.
    box-officebomb
    • 1997,Eric L. Flom,Chaplin in the Sound Era: An Analysis of the Seven Talkies,page277:
      Projection problems plaguedCountess’London premiere on January 5, 1967, Jerry Epstein recalled, and it was perhaps an omen, for reaction by critics afterward was swift and immediate: The film was abomb.
    • 2010,Tony Curtis,Peter Golenbock,American Prince: My Autobiography,unnumbered page:
      The movie was abomband so was my next film,Balboa,in which I played a scheming real estate tycoon.
    • 2011,Elizabeth Barfoot Christian,Rock Brands: Selling Sound in a Media Saturated Culture,page11:
      The movie was abomb,but it put the band before an even larger audience.
  3. (US,Australia,informal)Acarin poor condition.
    Synonyms:lemon,rustbucket
    • 2005August 6, “Warm affection for a rust-bucket past”, inSydney Morning Herald‎[1]:
      Nowadays, an oldbombsimply won’t pass the inspection.
    • 2010,Rebecca James,Beautiful Malice,page19:
      We′ve got the money and it just feels ridiculous to let you drive around in that oldbomb.
    • 2011,Amarinda Jones,Seducing Celestine,page49:
      After two weeks of driving it she knew the car was abomband she did not need anyone saying it to her. The only one allowed to pick on her car was her.Piece of crap car[…]
  4. (UK,Australia,slang)A large amount of money.
    Synonyms:fortune,packet,pretty penny
    make abomb
    cost abomb
    • 2009,Matthew Vierling,The Blizzard,page133:
      When Kiley presented Blackpool with the custom shotgun, he said, “This must′ve cost abomb.”
    • 2010,Liz Young,Fair Game,page136:
      'You′ve already spent abomb!'
      'Notonit, Sal —underit. Presents!' As we eventually staggered up to bed, Sally said to me, 'I hope to God he's not been spending abombon presents, too.[…]'
    • 2011,Michael R. Häack,Passport: A Novel of International Intrigue,page47:
      The kids cost abombto feed, they eat all the time.
    • 2011,Bibe,A Victim,page 38,
      He had recently exchanged his old bike for a new, three speed racer, which cost abomband the weekly payment were becoming difficult, with the dangers of repossession.
  5. (social)Something highly effective or attractive.
    1. (chieflyBritish,slang)Asuccess;the bomb.
      Our fabulous new crumpets have been selling like abomb.
    2. (chieflyBritish,India,slang)A very attractive woman.
      Synonym:bombshell
    4. (often in combination)An action or statement that causes a strong reaction.
      Synonym:bombshell
      It was an ordinary speech, until the president dropped abomb:he would be retiring for medical reasons.
      1. Anobsceneword identified by its first letter.
        Normally very controlled, he dropped the F-bomband cursed the paparazzi.
    5. (American football,slang)A longforward pass.
    6. (rugby,soccer,slang)A high kick that sends the ball relatively straight up so players can get under it before it comes down.
      Synonyms:garryowen,up and under
    7. (basketball,slang)A throw into thebasketfrom a considerable distance.
      • 2013,Brett L. Abrams, Raphael Mazzone,The Bullets, the Wizards, and Washington, DC, Basketball,page163:
        With five seconds remaining, Smith received the inbounds pass and launched abombthat dropped through the net to give his team an 80-79 victory.
  6. Acyclonewhose central pressure drops at an average rate of at least one millibar per hour for at least 24 hours.
    • 1980October, Frederick Sanders with John R. Gyakum, “Synoptic-dynamic climatology of the 'bomb'”, inMonthly Weather Review,volume108,number10,page1596:
      Abombfor this study is defined as one in which the deepening rate is the geostrophic equivalent of at least 12 mb in 12 h at 45ºN.
  7. (chemistry)A heavy-walled container designed to permit chemical reactions under high pressure.
    • 2008,François Cardarelli,Materials Handbook: A Concise Desktop Reference,page276:
      The process consisted in preparing the metal by metallothermic reduction of titanium tetrachloride with sodium metal in a steelbomb.
  8. (obsolete)A great booming noise; a hollow sound.
    • 1627(indicated as1626),Francis [Bacon],“II. Century.”, inSylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries.[…],London:[…]William Rawley[…];[p]rinted by J[ohn]H[aviland]for William Lee[…],→OCLC,paragraph 151,page47:
      a Pillar of Iron[…]Which if you had ſtrucke[…]it would make a greatBombein theChamberbeneath.
  9. (slang)A woman’sbreast.
  10. (professional wrestling)A professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted and then slammed back-first down to the mat.
  11. (slang)Arecreational drugground up,wrapped,andswallowed.
  12. (colloquial)An act ofjumpingintowaterwhile keeping one's arms and legs tucked into the body, as in asquattingposition, to maximizesplashing.
    Synonym:cannonball
    • 2016,Steve Coogan,Neil Gibbons & Rob Gibbons,Alan Partridge: Nomad,page45:
      In clear contravention of the International Code of Conduct for Swimming Baths, a teenager had entered the pool by performing abomb.

Usage notes

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  • The diametrical slang meanings are somewhat distinguishable by the article. For “a success”, the phrase is generallythe bomb.Otherwisebombcan mean “a failure”.

Derived terms

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Terms derived frombomb(noun)

Translations

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See also

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Verb

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bomb(third-person singular simple presentbombs,present participlebombing,simple past and past participlebombed)

  1. (transitive,intransitive)Toattackusing one or morebombs;tobombard.
    • 2000,Canadian Peace Research Institute, Canadian Peace Research and Education Association,Peace Research,Volumes 32-33,page 65,
      15 May: US jetsbombedair-defence sites north of Mosul, as the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the US and Britain of intentionallybombingcivilian targets. (AP)
    • 2005,Howard Zinn,A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present,page421:
      Italy hadbombedcities in the Ethiopian war; Italy and Germany hadbombedcivilians in the Spanish Civil War; at the start of World War II German planes dropped bombs on Rotterdam in Holland, Coventry in England, and elsewhere.
    • 2007,David Parker,Hertfordshire Children in War and Peace, 1914-1939,page59:
      Essendon wasbombedin the early hours of 3 September 1916; a few houses and part of the church were destroyed, and two sisters killed.
    • 2022September 9, HarryBlank, “The Mausoleum at Ipperwash”, inSCP Foundation‎[2],archived fromthe originalon27 May 2024:
      Dr. Ngo: Did you ever find out where the smugglers were smugglingfrom?

      <Silence on recording.>

      Dr. Ngo: Chief? Did you ev—

      Chief Ibanez: No, and I neverwill,because as I tried to tell you at the start, when I was sixteen the Chaos Insurgencybombedus into the fucking ground.

    1. (transitive,figuratively,often withwith)Toattackorannoyin the manner of abombing.
      • 2022May 7, Ray Brewer, “Henderson native takes another step toward his soccer dreams with spot on Lights' roster”, inLas Vegas Sun‎[3]:
        School days have been missed or cut short many times to accommodate soccer travel through the years, but this return felt different. Photos posted on his social media documenting the experience were seen by classmates, many of whombombedhim with questions about his future in the sport.
  2. (informal)
    1. Tojumpinto water in asquattingposition, with the arms wrapped around the legs, in order tomaximisethe resultingsplash.
    2. To add an excessive amount of chlorine to a pool when it has not been maintained properly.
    3. (especially withalong,down,upetc.)To move at high speed.
      I wasbombingdown the road on my motorbike.
  3. (slang)
    1. (reflexive)To make oneselfdrunk.
      • 1985,Pete Hamill,Dirty Laundry,page97:
        The calendar was selling Moctezuma beer, so I had one of them in her honor while Murraybombedhimself with the mezcal.
      • 1995,Four Rooms(film)
        TED: The champagne you ordered, sir.
        MAN: No time for this. Leave it on ice.
        WIFE: But I want some now...
        MAN: There'll be plenty for you at the party, baby, you canbombyourself all you want at the party.
    2. To cover an area in manygraffititags.
      • 2009,Scape Martinez,GRAFF: The Art & Technique of Graffiti,page124:
        It is often used to collect other writer's tags, and future plans forbombingand piecing.
    3. (transitive,intransitive)Tofaildismally.
      I totallybombedthat exam.
      • 1992June, Lynn Norment, “Arsenio Hall: Claiming the Late-night Crown”, inEbony,page74:
        So Hall quit the job, turned in the company car and went to Chicago, where as a stand-up comic hebombedseveral times before he was discovered by Nancy Wilson, who took him on the road — where hebombedagain before a room of Republicans—and then to Los Angeles.
      • 2000,Carmen Infantino, Jon B. Cooke (interviewer),The Carmen Infantino Interview,in Jon B. Cooke, Neal Adams,Comic Book Artist Collection,page 12,
        Carmen:[…]Then itbombedand itbombedbadly. After a few more issues I asked Mike what was happening and he said, “I′m trying everything I can but it′s just not working.” So I took him off the book and he left. That was it.
      • 2008,Erik Sternberger,The Long and Winding Road,page62:
        She was the reason why hebombedthe interview. He just couldn′t seem to get her out of his mind.
    4. (intransitive,computing)Tocrash.
      • 2001,Janet Holm McHenry,Girlfriend Gatherings: Creative Ways to Stay Connected,page28:
        When things weren't going Alison's way at work — some editor wanted something changed or her computerbombedagain — she'd cuss and yell at whoever happened to be in the way.
    5. (transitive,slang)To make a smelly mess in (atoilet).
  4. (obsolete)Tosound;toboom;to make a humming or buzzing sound.
  5. (slang)Synonym ofparachute(“wrap illicit drugs in a covering before swallowing them”)

Derived terms

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Translations

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Adjective

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bomb(comparativemorebomb,superlativemostbomb)

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

See also

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References

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Further reading

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Danish

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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bomb

  1. imperativeofbombe

Norwegian Bokmål

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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bomb

  1. imperativeofbombe

Swedish

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SwedishWikipediahas an article on:
Wikipediasv
bombmed tändstubin[bombwith a lit fuse]
bombflygplan som fällerbomber[bomber [bomb] aircraft droppingbombs]

Etymology

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FromFrenchbombe

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bombc

  1. abomb
    bombplansomfäller/släpperbomber
    bombers [bombplanes] droppingbombs
    1. abombshell(also figuratively)
      Nyhetenslog nersom enbomb
      The news dropped [struck] like abombshell

Declension

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Declension ofbomb
nominative genitive
singular indefinite bomb bombs
definite bomben bombens
plural indefinite bomber bombers
definite bomberna bombernas

Derived terms

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References

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