bomb

Pronunciation

• (UK) (AU) IPA ^(key): /bɒm/
• (US) IPA ^(key): /bɑm/

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Noun

Singular bomb

Plural bombs

1. (countable) A bomb is a weapon that explodes.

   The man killed himself and eight others by detonating a very powerful bomb.

   On August 6, a U.S. B-29 dropped a 9,000-pound atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

   One U.S. soldier and two Iraqi children were killed when a roadside bomb exploded in central Baghdad.

2. (countable) If something, often a movie or a concert, was a bomb, it was very unsuccessful.

   The first computer was a bomb, but IBM improved it and the new machine sold very well.

• 
  An airplane dropping a bomb.
• 
  An exploded pipe bomb.
• 
  A drawing of a bomb.

Verb

Plain form bomb

Third-person singular bombs

Past tense bombed

Past participle bombed

Present participle bombing

1. (transitive) If you bomb a place, you drop or put one or more bombs there.

   This woman's mother and son were killed when American planes bombed the village.

2. (intransitive) If you bomb somewhere, you go there at high speed.

   They walked up the mountain with their bikes and then bombed down as fast as they could go.

3. (transitive & intransitive) If you bomb a test, course, etc., you get a very low grade on it.
4. (intransitive) If something, often a movie or a concert, bombs, it is very unsuccessful.

   The show bombed in London as well as flopping on Broadway.

Related words

• bombing
• bomber