ex|plode

ex|plode «ehk SPLOHD», verb, -plod|ed, -plod|ing.

–v.i.

1. a) to blow up; burst with a loud noise: »

The building was destroyed when the defective boiler exploded.

b) to burst or expand violently because of the pressure produced by the sudden generation of one or more gases, for example by gunpowder, nitroglycerin, or a nuclear reaction: »

A firecracker explodes.

2. Figurative. to burst forth noisily or violently: »

The speaker's mistake was so funny the audience exploded with laughter. Racial tensions exploded into riots. The Madagascar crisis exploded suddenly this month (New York Times).

3. to undergo a sudden or rapid increase, growth, or expansion: »

As China's population explodes, is it not natural for Mao Tse-tung to look longingly at the vast unpopulated areas of Siberia? (Canada Month). It is not easy to maintain the traditional role of the liberal university in a century of exploding knowledge (Atlantic).

4. Phonetics. (of stops) to be articulated with audible release of the breath at the end.

–v.t.

1. to cause to explode; blow up: »

Many boys explode firecrackers on the Fourth of July.

SYNONYM(S): detonate.

2. Figurative. to cause to be rejected; destroy belief in; discredit; disprove: »

Columbus and other navigators helped to explode the theory that the earth is flat.

3. Phonetics. to end the articulation of (a stop) by audibly releasing the breath. The first p in pop is always exploded, the final p is often not.

4. Obsolete. to drive (an actor, singer, etc.) off the stage by hoots and yells of disapproval.

╂[< Latin explōdere drive out by clapping < ex- out + plaudere clap]