Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bombast

/ˈbɑmbæst/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.27 in modern English

Syllables
bom-bast
IPA
/ˈbɑmbæst/
13
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Cotton, or cotton wool.

Archaic; Countable; Uncountable

noun

Cotton, or any soft, fibrous material, used as stuffing for garments; stuffing, padding.

Archaic; Countable; Uncountable

noun

High-sounding words; language above the dignity of the occasion; a pompous or ostentatious manner of writing or speaking.

Countable; Uncountable

verb

To swell or fill out; to inflate, to pad.

adj

Big without meaning, or high-sounding; bombastic, inflated; magniloquent.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Old French bombace (“cotton, cotton wadding”), from Late Latin bombax (“cotton”), a variant of bombyx (“silkworm”), from Ancient Greek βόμβυξ (bómbux, “silkworm”), possibly related to Middle Persian pmbk' (“cotton”), from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning “to twist, wind”.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈbɑmbæst/
  • British English: /ˈbɒmbæst/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Synonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce bombast?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbɑmbæst/.
What does bombast mean?
Cotton, or cotton wool.
Where does bombast come from?
It is traced to Old French.

How to pronounce bombast

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “bombast”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbɑmbæst/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “bombast”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “bombast” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.