1
general::
bomb
a weapon that explodes:
• The bomb exploded on a bus in Jerusalem during the city’s morning rush hour. • Fifty-five people were injured in a car bomb attack in Baghdad. • Morrow was convicted in 1998 of sending four letter bombs (= a small bomb hidden in a package and sent to someone in order to hurt or kill them ) to government officials. • People were worried that terrorists would try to detonate a dirty bomb (= a bomb that contains nuclear materials ) in the city centre.
explosives
bombs or substances that can cause explosions:
• They used explosives to blow the door off the front of the building. • The car was packed with 1,000 lbs of high explosives (= powerful explosives ) .
device
a bomb – used especially in news reports:
• Police found the device hidden in a suitcase. • A bomb threat was received and the building was evacuated, but no device was found.
IED
a bomb that has been made using whatever materials are available, especially one used to blow up soldiers travelling through a place. IED is short for ‘improvised explosive device’:
• Several soldiers were killed when an IED exploded as their convoy drove by.
mine
a type of bomb that is hidden just below the ground or under water, and that explodes when it is touched:
• The fields are still full of landmines . • The ship struck a mine and sank.
grenade
( also hand grenade ) a small bomb that can be thrown by hand or fired from a special gun:
• He pulled the pin and threw a grenade toward the enemy’s position.
Longman-Thesaurus
3
general::
noun ADJ. big, huge, large, massive | small | cluster, fire, high explosive, incendiary, mortar, nail, petrol, smoke | atom/atomic, hydrogen, neutron, nuclear | bouncing, flying | terrorist | home-made | unexploded | stray Their truck was hit by a stray bomb. | dummy, fake a practice flight with dummy bombs | car | letter, parcel | time (figurative) He described global warming as ‘an environmental time bomb ticking away’. VERB + BOMB place, plant, put Police suspect terrorists planted the bomb. | carry The plane had been adapted to carry bombs. | drop, release Enemy planes dropped bombs along the railway line. | defuse | detonate, explode, set off | build, construct, develop (These verbs are only used about countries.) India started to build a nuclear bomb. | make He used a clock to make a home-made bomb. BOMB + VERB fall, rain (down) Eighty people died when bombs rained down on the city's crowded streets. | hit sth | detonate, explode, go off | blow sb/sth to pieces, blow sth up, destroy sth, kill sb, rip through sth Fifteen people were blown to pieces by the car bomb. A terrorist bomb ripped through the town's packed shopping centre. | be ticking away BOMB + NOUN attack, blast, explosion | alert, scare, threat, warning | hoax | disposal, squad | shelter | crater The land was scarred with bomb craters. | damage | site | victim | suspect | test the fallout from atomic bomb tests, verb ADV. heavily The city had been very heavily bombed.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
5
general::
bomb
verbs
a bomb explodes/goes off
• Forty people were injured when the bomb exploded. • A 200 pound bomb went off in the car park.
set off a bomb
( also detonate a bomb formal ) (= make a bomb explode )
• The area was cleared and the police safely detonated the bomb.
drop a bomb
(= from a plane )
• Government forces began dropping bombs on rebel positions.
a bomb falls on something
• A bomb fell on the cathedral during the war.
plant a bomb
(= put a bomb somewhere )
• It is thought that right-wing extremists planted the bomb.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + bomb
a nuclear/hydrogen bomb
• The North Koreans were developing a nuclear bomb.
an atom/atomic bomb
• Oppenheimer was the father of the atomic bomb.
a neutron bomb
(= that kills people but does not damage buildings much )
a car bomb
(= that makes a car explode )
• The car bomb killed 21 shoppers.
a letter bomb
( also a parcel bomb British English ) (= sent in a letter or parcel )
• A second letter bomb was found among the unopened mail.
a time bomb
(= that is set to explode at a particular time )
• The terrorists’ time bomb was planned to cause the maximum carnage.
a petrol bomb
British English (= containing petrol )
• A petrol bomb was hurled at police as they chased the car.
a nail bomb
(= containing nails )
a cluster bomb
(= that sends out smaller bombs when it explodes )
a dirty bomb
(= that spreads radioactive material )
a smart bomb
(= that is guided to the right place )
a terrorist bomb
• The aircraft was blown apart by a terrorist bomb.
a suicide bomb
(= the person carrying the bomb dies when it explodes )
• Each time there is a suicide bomb it is a new blow to peace.
a homemade bomb
• Officers discovered several homemade bombs in the trunk of his car.
an unexploded bomb
• The workmen found an unexploded bomb.
bomb + NOUN
a bomb blast/explosion
• The restaurant was destroyed in a massive bomb blast.
a bomb attack
• No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb attack.
a bomb threat
(= when someone leaves a message saying there is a bomb somewhere )
• He delayed his flight home because of a bomb threat.
a bomb scare
(= when people think there might be a bomb somewhere )
• The building was evacuated after a bomb scare.
bomb disposal
(= the job of dealing with bombs that have not exploded )
• a bomb disposal expert
bomb-making equipment
• Police found guns and bomb-making equipment in the house.
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