Definition of "explosion" []

• A release of mechanical, chemical, or nuclear energy in a sudden and often violent manner with the generation of high temperature and usually with the release of gases. (noun)
• A violent bursting as a result of internal pressure. (noun)
• The loud, sharp sound made as a result of either of these actions. (noun)
• A sudden, often vehement outburst: an explosion of rage. (noun)
• A sudden, great increase: a population explosion; the explosion of illegal drug use. (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.

• "The radius, _p b_, of the upper circle is termed the _crater radius_; the line _o p_, drawn from the centre of the charge perpendicular to the surface where the explosion takes place, is termed the _line of least resistance_; the line _o b_, drawn from the centre of the powder to any point in the circumference of the upper circle, is termed the _radius of explosion_."
• "The term explosion in its original introduction denoted the making of a _noise_; it grew to comprehend the idea of _force_ accompanied with violent outburst; it is advancing to a stage in which it implies _combustion_ as associated with destruction, yet somewhat distinct from the abstract idea of the resolution of any form of matter into its elementary constituents."
• "Cochrane had prepared two or three vessels as what he called explosion-ships."