| Noun | 1. | explosion - a violent release of energy caused by a chemical or nuclear reactionairburst - an explosion in the atmosphere blast - an explosion (as of dynamite) backfire - a loud noise made by the explosion of fuel in the manifold or exhaust of an internal combustion engine big bang - (cosmology) the cosmic explosion that is hypothesized to have marked the origin of the universe blowback - the backward escape of unburned gunpowder after a shot fragmentation - the scattering of bomb fragments after the bomb explodes inflation - (cosmology) a brief exponential expansion of the universe (faster than the speed of light) postulated to have occurred shortly after the big bang | |
| 2. | explosion - the act of exploding or bursting something; "the explosion of the firecrackers awoke the children"; "the burst of an atom bomb creates enormous radiation aloft"fulmination - the act of exploding with noise and violence; "his fulminations frightened the horses" | |
| 3. | explosion - a sudden great increase; "the population explosion"; "the information explosion"increase - a change resulting in an increase; "the increase is scheduled for next month" | |
| 4. | explosion - the noise caused by an explosion; "the explosion was heard a mile away"noise - sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound); "he enjoyed the street noises"; "they heard indistinct noises of people talking"; "during the firework display that ended the gala the noise reached 98 decibels" | |
| 5. | explosion - the terminal forced release of pressure built up during the occlusive phase of a stop consonant | |
| 6. | explosion - a sudden outburst; "an explosion of laughter"; "an explosion of rage" | |
| 7. | explosion - a golf shot from a bunker that typically moves sand as well as the golf ball | |