bomb
noun /bɒm/
/bɑːm/
Idioms - [countable] a weapon designed to explode at a particular time or when it is dropped or thrown
- a bomb goes off/explodes
- Hundreds of bombs were dropped on the city.
- to plant/detonate a bomb
- a suicide bomb
- a roadside bomb (= one that is designed to blow up vehicles)
- a bomb attack/blast
- extensive bomb damage
Extra ExamplesTopics War and conflictb1- A terrorist bomb ripped through the town's packed shopping centre.
- Eighty people died when bombs rained down on the city's crowded streets.
- Enemy planes dropped bombs along the railway line.
- He used a clock to make a home-made bomb.
- India started to build a nuclear bomb.
- Police suspect terrorists planted the bomb.
- The bombs were strapped to their chests.
- The land was scarred with bomb craters.
- The plane had been adapted to carry bombs.
- The suspect was apprehended for planting a fake bomb in a bus terminal.
- Their truck was hit by a stray bomb.
- a practice flight with dummy bombs
- There was no warning of the bomb blast which ripped through the packed station.
- On a pleasure trip from Umbria to Milan, a terrorist bomb goes off in Emily 's train carriage.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- huge
- large
- …
- place
- plant
- put
- …
- fall
- rain
- rain down
- …
- attack
- blast
- explosion
- …
- the bomb[singular] nuclear weapons (atomic or hydrogen bombs)
- countries that have the bomb
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- huge
- large
- …
- place
- plant
- put
- …
- fall
- rain
- rain down
- …
- attack
- blast
- explosion
- …
- a bomb[singular] (British English, informal) a lot of money
- That dress must have cost a bomb!
- Some company directors make an absolute bomb.
- a bomb[singular] (North American English, informal) a complete failure
- The musical was a complete bomb on Broadway.
- [countable] (North American English) (in American football) a long forward throw of the ballTopics Sports: ball and racket sportsc2
- [countable] (North American English) a container in which a liquid such as paint or insect poison is kept under pressure and released as a spray or as foam
- a bug bomb (= used for killing insects)
More Like This Silent lettersSilent letters- gnarled
- gnash
- gnat
- gnaw
- gnome
- haute cuisine
- heir
- herb
- honour
- hors d’oeuvre
- hour
- knack
- knee
- kneel
- knife
- knight
- knit
- knob
- knock
- knot
- know
- knuckle
- psalm
- psephology
- psychic
- ptarmigan
- pterodactyl
- psychology
- wrangle
- wrap
- wreath
- wreck
- wrench
- wrestle
- wriggle
- wring
- write
- wrong
- bomb
- climb
- crumb
- doubt
- lamb
- limb
- ascent
- fascinate
- muscle
- scene
- scissors
- height
- right
- sleigh
- weight
- align
- campaign
- design
- foreign
- malign
- reign
- unfeigned
- balmy
- calm
- calf
- half
- yolk
- autumn
- column
- condemn
- damn
- hymn
- solemn
- bristle
- fasten
- listen
- mortgage
- soften
- thistle
- wrestle
- biscuit
- build
- circuit
- disguise
- guilty
- league
- rogue
- vague
- yacht
- answer
- sword
- two
Word Originlate 17th cent.: from French bombe, from Italian bomba, probably from Latin bombus ‘booming, humming’, from Greek bombos, of imitative origin.
Idioms
be the bomb
- (North American English) to be very good; to be the best
- Check out the new website. It's the bomb!
go down a bomb | go (like) a bomb
- (British English) to be very successful
- Our performance went down a bomb.
- The party was really going (like) a bomb.
- Her new novel is going like a bomb (= selling well).
go like a bomb
- (British English) (of a vehicle) to go very fast