bombshell

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈbɑmʃɛl/ UK /ˈbɒmʃɛl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a sudden and shocking piece of news; also a strikingly attractive person

Her resignation came as a complete bombshell to the board.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a sudden and shocking piece... shock revelation surprise sensation stunner

Word family

Related forms bomb shell

Etymology

A compound of bomb + shell, originally meaning an explosive artillery shell, later figuratively a shocking or sensational thing. Bomb derives via French bombe from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus ('booming sound').

bombus Latin bombos Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# bombshell

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɑmʃɛl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɒmʃɛl/

## Meanings
1. a sudden and shocking piece of news; also a strikingly attractive person

## Examples
- Her resignation came as a complete bombshell to the board.

## Synonyms
- shock
- revelation
- surprise
- sensation
- stunner

## Related Forms
- bomb
- shell

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bombus
- Root: bombos

## Etymology
A compound of bomb + shell, originally meaning an explosive artillery shell, later figuratively a shocking or sensational thing. Bomb derives via French bombe from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus ('booming sound').

## AI Etymology
Bombshell is a compound of bomb + shell, originally meaning an explosive artillery shell, later figuratively a shocking or sensational thing. Bomb derives via French bombe from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus ('booming sound'). The historical trail runs through bombus in Latin and bombos in Ancient Greek. Morphologically, bombshell is transparent: it is a compound of bomb + shell, originally meaning an explosive artillery shell, later figuratively a shocking or sensational thing. Used as a noun, bombshell now means "a sudden and shocking piece of news; also a strikingly attractive person", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as bomb and shell. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- People & Society

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