| afterdamp |
a suffocating gas or mixture of gases that remains in a mine after a methane explosion or fire. |
| airburst |
an explosion of a bomb or shell before it touches the ground. |
| big bang theory |
the theory that the universe originated at a fixed point billions of years ago in a cosmic explosion of a mass of hydrogen atoms, and that it has been expanding ever since. (Cf. steady state theory.) |
| blast |
an explosion. [3/12 definitions] |
| blow2 |
to become destroyed or dysfunctional because of an explosion or overload. [1/14 definitions] |
| blowup |
an explosion. [1/3 definitions] |
| boom1 |
a full, deep, and prolonged sound, such as an explosion. [1/7 definitions] |
| burst |
an act or instance of bursting; explosion. [1/8 definitions] |
| crater |
a similar depression in the surface of the earth or other heavenly bodies caused by the impact of falling meteorites or the explosion of a mine or bomb. [1/3 definitions] |
| explosive |
pertaining to or like an explosion. [2/3 definitions] |
| fallout |
the fall of radioactive particles, or the particles themselves, that result from a nuclear explosion. [1/2 definitions] |
| fireball |
the white-hot center of a nuclear explosion. [1/4 definitions] |
| firestorm |
an intense, widespread fire, caused by heavy conventional bombing or by an atomic explosion. [1/2 definitions] |
| flash burn |
damage to body tissue from extreme radiated heat, esp. from a nuclear explosion. |
| fulmination |
an explosion. [1/2 definitions] |
| light off |
to set fire to (fireworks or the like) in order to cause an explosion, usually for the purpose of entertainment. |
| megadeath |
a million dead people, as in a nuclear explosion. |
| mushroom |
to take on the shape of a mushroom, esp. as a cloud from a nuclear explosion. [1/7 definitions] |
| nuclear fission |
the splitting of an atomic nucleus into lighter fragments, usu. two of comparable mass, with an accompanying release of energy, as in the explosion of an atomic bomb. |
| nuclear fusion |
the fusion of atomic nuclei into a more massive nucleus, accompanied by a release of energy, as in the explosion of a hydrogen bomb. |
| pow |
used to suggest the sound of a shot, blow, explosion, or the like. [2 definitions] |