bomb
Pronunciation
/bɑːm/

Definition & Meaning of "bomb"in English

Bomb
01

an object that is designed to explode and cause destruction

bomb definition and meaning
Grammatical Information
Animacy status
Inanimate
Composition
Simple
Countable
Plural form
bombs
Examples
The bomb exploded in the crowded market, causing widespread panic and chaos.
02

a strong, sealed vessel used to measure the heat of combustion of a substance

Examples
The scientist placed the sample in the bomb to measure its calorific value.
03

an absolute failure

Examples
The movie was a bomb at the box office, earning very little revenue.
04

a deep, forward pass or hit in a ball game, typically covering a significant distance down the field

What is a "bomb"?

A bomb is a long, powerful pass or hit in a ball game, typically made over a great distance down the field. It is often used to quickly advance the ball or set up a scoring opportunity by sending it far ahead to a teammate or toward the goal. In sports like football or soccer, a bomb can catch the opposing team off guard, making it a valuable tactic to create an open play or break through their defense. The pass or hit requires strength, accuracy, and good timing.

Examples
The soccer player executed a perfect bomb to the striker up front.
to bomb
01

to attack someone or something using explosive devices

Transitive: to bomb a location
to bomb definition and meaning
Grammatical Information
Composition
Simple
Action verb
Regular
Present tense
bomb
3rd person singular
bombs
Present participle
bombing
Past simple
bombed
Past participle
bombed
Examples
The government accused the other country of bombing our embassy, leading to a diplomatic crisis.
02

(of a movie, play, etc.) to fail disastrously

Intransitive
Examples
Despite high expectations, the new musical bombed on opening night and closed after just one week.
03

to fail badly at something, such as a test, performance, or task

Slang

What does "to bomb" mean in failure slang?

The phrase "to bomb" means to fail badly or perform very poorly at something, such as a test, performance, or task. The structure uses "bomb" metaphorically, implying a total collapse or disastrous outcome. It is informal and widely used in academic, entertainment, and everyday contexts to describe significant failure.

Examples
The test was so hard, I bombed it.
04

to swallow a drug capsule or pill for oral ingestion

Slang

What does "to bomb" mean in drug slang?

The phrase "to bomb" means to swallow a drug in capsule or wrapped form, typically without chewing or using other methods of ingestion. The structure is informal slang where "bomb" refers to a packaged dose of a substance, usually wrapped for easy swallowing. It is commonly used in drug-related contexts to describe oral ingestion of pre-packaged drugs.

Examples
He bombed a couple of pills before the party started.
01

used to describe something that is the best, exceptional, or impressive

Slang
Grammatical Information
Composition
Simple
qualitative
Superlative
most bomb
Comparative
more bomb
gradable

What does "bomb" mean in positive slang?

The term "bomb" means something is excellent, impressive, or very successful. The structure is a semantic inversion of the literal meaning (an explosive device), repurposed in slang to intensify approval or impact. It is informal slang commonly used in entertainment, fashion, and everyday speech to describe something outstanding, as in "that song is the bomb," meaning it is very good.

Examples
That concert was bomb; the energy in the crowd was unreal.
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