Definition of "detonation" []

• The act of exploding. (noun)
• An explosion. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Even minor deterioration at any part of the weapon will cause it to fail to detonate altogether; accidental detonation is about as likely as conservatives having an intelligent idea."
• "Hoodathunk (sponsored by the FSM, Noodles for Freedom!) says: accidental detonation is about as likely as conservatives having an intelligent idea."
• "They were rendered today, but I don't know if the word detonation is entirely correct, because, as I understand it, they were not explosives in those packages, but they were rendered safe because they were suspicious and a person was taken into custody for questioning."