bomb

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A weapon that explodes and causes damage.

   The old bomb was found buried near the railway.

2. 2
   verb

   To attack a place with bombs.

   The city was bombed heavily during the war.

3. 3
   noun

   A complete failure, especially a film or product.

   The movie was a box-office bomb.

4. 4
   verb

   (informal) To fail badly, especially a test.

   I totally bombed the maths exam.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Bomb is recorded from the late 16th century and probably goes back to Greek bombos, meaning “booming” or “humming,” an imitation of sound. The first bombs, in the late 17th century, were explosive shells fired from mortars. From the 1960s, bomb could mean a failure in American English and a success in British English.

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.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary