detonate

/ˈdɛɾəneɪt/

/ˈdɛtəneɪt/

Other forms: detonated; detonating; detonates

Boom! To detonate is to explode or cause something to explode. If a bad guy lights the fuse of a stick of dynamite, run before it detonates!

In war, there is a lot of detonating, which is when something violently explodes, like bombs or grenades. When someone steps on a landmine, it detonates. The detonating of nuclear bombs devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. Also, to detonate is to set off a bomb. Pushing a button, flicking a switch, or lighting a fuse could detonate a bomb. Either way, to detonate is to blow up.

Definitions of detonate

1. verb

   cause to burst with a violent release of energy
   synonyms: blow up, explode, set off

   types:

   fulminate

   cause to explode violently and with loud noise

   dynamite

   blow up with dynamite

   type of:

   change integrity

   change in physical make-up
2. verb

   burst and release energy as through a violent chemical or physical reaction;"the bomb detonated at noon"
   synonyms: blow up, explode