Etymology From French bombe, from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus (“a booming sound”), from Ancient Greek βόμβος (bómbos, “booming, humming, buzzing”), imitative of the sound itself. Doublet of bombe. Compare boom.
During the Cold War, everyone worried about the bomb sometimes.
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Figuratively Events or conditions that have a speedy destructive effect.
If Alberta’s reserves are a carbon bomb, this global expansion of tar sands and oil shale exploitation amounts to an escalating emissions arms race, the unlocking of a subterranean cache of weapons of mass ecological destruction.2014 April 25, Martin Lukacs, “Canada becoming launch-pad of a global tar sands and oil shale frenzy”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 190, number 20, page 13:
"The hard Brexiteers have built a bomb under the UK automotive industry and the EU have lit it," they said.2018 June 6, “Brexit: EU advises businesses not to use British components because of Theresa May's plan to leave customs union”, in The Guardian:
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Mr. Gaetz’s loyalty to Mr. Trump, and willingness to toss proverbial bombs in Washington’s corridors of power, has shown no bounds, at least in public.2024 November 14, Linda Feldmann, Henry Gass, “Trump’s eye-popping Cabinet picks show his top priority: Loyalty”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air / Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there1814, “The Star-Spangled Banner”, Francis Scott Key (lyrics), John Stafford Smith (music):
Alternative, Archaic, Uncommon Alternative form of boom (“barrier used to obstruct navigation for military or other purposes”)
Juſt by the Black Sea are two Caſtles, one in Europe and the other in Aſia […] Anciently a Chain or Bomb lay acroſs from Caſtle to Caſtle, to prevent the paſſing of Ships in troublesome times.1702, Corneille le Bruyn, translated by W.J., A Voyage to the Levant, page 37:
they make no doubt of being Maſters of the Iſland, but the Entrance to the Place intended to be next attack’d, being ſecur’d by a Chain or Bomb the breaking of which might greatly damage their Shipping, they deferr’d attempting it before more arriv’d1745 July 20, “London”, in Old England or the Constitutional Journal, page 2:
Projection problems plagued Countess’ 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 a bomb.1997, Eric L. Flom, Chaplin in the Sound Era: An Analysis of the Seven Talkies, page 277:
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The movie was a bomb and so was my next film, Balboa, in which I played a scheming real estate tycoon.2010, Tony Curtis, Peter Golenbock, American Prince: My Autobiography, unnumbered page:
The movie was a bomb, but it put the band before an even larger audience.2011, Elizabeth Barfoot Christian, Rock Brands: Selling Sound in a Media Saturated Culture, page 11:
Nowadays, an old bomb simply won’t pass the inspection.2005 August 6, “Warm affection for a rust-bucket past”, in Sydney Morning Herald:
We′ve got the money and it just feels ridiculous to let you drive around in that old bomb.2010, Rebecca James, Beautiful Malice, page 19:
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After two weeks of driving it she knew the car was a bomb and she did not need anyone saying it to her. The only one allowed to pick on her car was her. Piece of crap car[…]2011, Amarinda Jones, Seducing Celestine, page 49:
When Kiley presented Blackpool with the custom shotgun, he said, “This must′ve cost a bomb.”2009, Matthew Vierling, The Blizzard, page 133:
'You′ve already spent a bomb!' 'Not on it, Sal — under it. Presents!' As we eventually staggered up to bed, Sally said to me, 'I hope to God he's not been spending a bomb on presents, too.[…]'2010, Liz Young, Fair Game, page 136:
The kids cost a bomb to feed, they eat all the time.2011, Michael R. Häack, Passport: A Novel of International Intrigue, page 47:
2011, Bibe, A Victim, page 38, He had recently exchanged his old bike for a new, three speed racer, which cost a bomb and the weekly payment were becoming difficult, with the dangers of repossession.
Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Rugby, Soccer, SportsSlang A high kick that sends the ball relatively straight up so players can get under it before it comes down.
With five seconds remaining, Smith received the inbounds pass and launched a bomb that dropped through the net to give his team an 80-79 victory.2013, Brett L. Abrams, Raphael Mazzone, The Bullets, the Wizards, and Washington, DC, Basketball, page 163:
Give me two bucks, you take a puff and pass my bomb back / Suck up that dank like a Slurpee, the serious / Bomb will make a niggy go delirious like Eddie Murphy1995, “I Got 5 on It”, in Operation Stackola, performed by Luniz:
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In compounds, Informal A piece of food, often small, usually intensely flavored.
Bacon-wrapped sausage stuffed with cheese, onions, jalapenos, and more bacon is as artery-clogging as it is delicious! […] Remove bacon bomb from the smoker; let rest for 30 minutes before slicing.2018, Rubyduck75 [username], “Smoked Bacon Bombs”, in All recipes, archived from the original on 14 Oct 2018:
Amazing Pepperoni Pizza Bombs explode with flavor with every bite! They are loaded with pepperoni, cheese, and sauce to create a delicious POP of flavor in your mouth – hence the name!2023 April 9, Amy Desrosiers, “Amazing Pepperoni Cheese Pizza Bombs That Explode With Flavor!”, in Sizzling Eats, archived from the original on 07 Jan 2026:
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These Air Fryer Breakfast Bombs are always a huge hit at our house! Light and flaky biscuit dough wrapped around your favorite breakfast items and baked until golden brown in the air fryer.2024, “Air Fryer Breakfast Bombs”, in Make your meals, archived from the original on 26 Feb 2024:
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A cyclone whose central pressure drops at an average rate of at least one millibar per hour for at least 24 hours.
A bomb for 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.1980 October, Frederick Sanders with John R. Gyakum, “Synoptic-dynamic climatology of the 'bomb'”, in Monthly Weather Review, volume 108, number 10, page 1596:
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Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A heavy-walled container designed to permit chemical reactions under high pressure.
The process consisted in preparing the metal by metallothermic reduction of titanium tetrachloride with sodium metal in a steel bomb.2008, François Cardarelli, Materials Handbook: A Concise Desktop Reference, page 276:
a Pillar of Iron […] Which if you had ſtrucke […] it would make a great Bombe in the Chamber beneath.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “II. Century.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC, paragraph 151, page 47:
Birdie was okay, and occasionally in passing Mort would give her a slap on the behind, or cop of feel of those bombs of hers.1970 [1937], Meyer Levin, The Old Bunch, page 477:
voices from the crowd: Hit her below the belt. (Laughter) voices:Her bombs might explode!1989, Lasse Hallström, Reidar Jönsson, Brasse Brännström, Per Berglund, My Life as a Dog, screenplay, page 58:
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The fact that this girl had the greatest rack of any female athlete ever and got her bombs reduced is getting major play in the mainstream press2014 December, V.N., “V-Mail”, in Voluptuous, page 20:
Slang A recreational drug ground up, wrapped, and swallowed.
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Colloquial An act of jumping into water while keeping one's arms and legs tucked into the body, as in a squatting position, to maximize splashing.
In clear contravention of the International Code of Conduct for Swimming Baths, a teenager had entered the pool by performing a bomb.2016, Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons & Rob Gibbons, Alan Partridge: Nomad, page 45:
Etymology From French bombe, from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus (“a booming sound”), from Ancient Greek βόμβος (bómbos, “booming, humming, buzzing”), imitative of the sound itself. Doublet of bombe. Compare boom.
2000, Canadian Peace Research Institute, Canadian Peace Research and Education Association, Peace Research, Volumes 32-33, page 65, 15 May: US jets bombed air-defence sites north of Mosul, as the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the US and Britain of intentionally bombing civilian targets. (AP)
Italy had bombed cities in the Ethiopian war; Italy and Germany had bombed civilians 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.2005, Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present, page 421:
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Essendon was bombed in the early hours of 3 September 1916; a few houses and part of the church were destroyed, and two sisters killed.2007, David Parker, Hertfordshire Children in War and Peace, 1914-1939, page 59:
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Figuratively, Often, With with To attack or annoy in the manner of a bombing.
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 whom bombed him with questions about his future in the sport.2022 May 7, Ray Brewer, “Henderson native takes another step toward his soccer dreams with spot on Lights' roster”, in Las Vegas Sun:
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Informal To jump into water in a squatting position, with the arms wrapped around the legs, in order to maximise the resulting splash.
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Informal To add an excessive amount of chlorine to a pool when it has not been maintained properly.
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Especially, Informal, With along To move at high speed.
The calendar was selling Moctezuma beer, so I had one of them in her honor while Murray bombed himself with the mezcal.1985, Pete Hamill, Dirty Laundry, page 97:
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 can bomb yourself all you want at the party.1995, Four Rooms (film)
It is often used to collect other writer's tags, and future plans for bombing and piecing.2009, Scape Martinez, GRAFF: The Art & Technique of Graffiti, page 124:
The nondiscrimination measures bombed at the polls, losing 18 percent to 82 percent. One gay activist in the city told GCN, "We got whupped."1985 February 2, Sue Hyde, “Houston Gay Rights Squashed in Referendum”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 28, page 1:
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So Hall quit the job, turned in the company car and went to Chicago, where as a stand-up comic he bombed several times before he was discovered by Nancy Wilson, who took him on the road — where he bombed again before a room of Republicans—and then to Los Angeles.1992 June, Lynn Norment, “Arsenio Hall: Claiming the Late-night Crown”, in Ebony, page 74:
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 it bombed and it bombed badly. 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.
She was the reason why he bombed the interview. He just couldn′t seem to get her out of his mind.2008, Erik Sternberger, The Long and Winding Road, page 62:
When things weren't going Alison's way at work — some editor wanted something changed or her computer bombed again — she'd cuss and yell at whoever happened to be in the way.2001, Janet Holm McHenry, Girlfriend Gatherings: Creative Ways to Stay Connected, page 28:
Obsolete To sound; to boom; to make a humming or buzzing sound.
What over-charged piece of melancholie / Is this, breakes in betweene my wishes thus, / With bombing sighs?1625, Ben Jonson, The Fortunate Isles and Their Union:
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Slang Synonym of parachute (“wrap illicit drugs in a covering before swallowing them”).
Etymology From French bombe, from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus (“a booming sound”), from Ancient Greek βόμβος (bómbos, “booming, humming, buzzing”), imitative of the sound itself. Doublet of bombe. Compare boom.