bomb

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.

noun

1. An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, (especially) one dropped from an aircraft.
   1. (dated, often with the) The atomic bomb.
      During the Cold War, everyone worried about the bomb sometimes.
   2. (figurative) 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. 2014-04-25, 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. 2018-06-06, “Brexit: EU advises businesses not to use British components because of Theresa May's plan to leave customs union”, in The Guardian
   3. (archaic) A mortar shell.
      And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air / Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there 1814, “The Star-Spangled Banner”, Francis Scott Key (lyrics), John Stafford Smith (music)
   4. (historical, archaic) Ellipsis of bomb ship.
   5. (colloquial) Any explosive charge.
2. (slang) A failure; an unpopular commercial product.
   box-office bomb
   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
   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
3. (US, Australia, informal) A car in poor condition.
   Nowadays, an old bomb simply won’t pass the inspection. August 6 2005, “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
   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
4. (UK, Australia, slang) A large amount of money.
   make a bomb
   cost a bomb
   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.
5. (social) Something highly effective or attractive.
   1. (chiefly Britain, slang) A success; the bomb.
      Our fabulous new crumpets have been selling like a bomb.
   2. (chiefly Britain, India, slang) A very attractive woman.
   3. (often in combination) An action or statement that causes a strong reaction.
      It was an ordinary speech, until the president dropped a bomb: he would be retiring for medical reasons.
      Normally very controlled, he dropped the F-bomb and cursed the paparazzi.
   4. (American football, slang) A long forward pass.
   5. (rugby, soccer, slang) A high kick that sends the ball relatively straight up so players can get under it before it comes down.
   6. (basketball, slang) A throw into the basket from a considerable distance.
      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
6. 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, John R. Gyakum, “Synoptic-dynamic climatology of the 'bomb'”, in Monthly Weather Review, volume 108, number 10, page 1596
7. (chemistry) 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
8. (obsolete) A great booming noise; a hollow sound.
9. (slang) A woman’s breast.
10. (professional wrestling) A professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted and then slammed back-first down to the mat.
11. (slang) A recreational drug ground up, wrapped, and swallowed.
12. (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

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To attack using one or more bombs; to bombard.
   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
   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
   1. (transitive, figurative, 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. 2022-05-07, Ray Brewer, “Henderson native takes another step toward his soccer dreams with spot on Lights' roster”, in Las Vegas Sun
2. (informal)
   1. To jump into water in a squatting position, with the arms wrapped around the legs.
   2. To add an excessive amount of chlorine to a pool when it has not been maintained properly.
   3. (especially with along, down, up etc.) To move at high speed.
      I was bombing down the road on my motorbike.
3. (slang)
   1. (reflexive) To make oneself drunk.
      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)
   2. To cover an area in many graffiti tags.
      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
   3. (transitive, intransitive) To fail dismally.
      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
   4. (intransitive, computing) To crash.
      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
   5. (transitive) To make a smelly mess in a toilet.
4. (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

adj

1. (slang) Great, awesome.
   Have you tried the new tacos from that restaurant? They're pretty bomb!