dynamite
/ˈdaɪ.nəˌmaɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.59 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A class of explosives made from nitroglycerine in an absorbent medium such as kieselguhr, used in mining and blasting.
Uncountable
verb
To blow up with dynamite or other high explosive.
Example Sentences
- "Even though sometimes I take differing views from some articles and letters in GCN, I think it's a dynamite piece of work. Good luck and thanks again."
- "And your shoulders are frozen (Cold as the night) / Oh, but you're an explosion (You're dynamite)"
- "That girl was dynamite. Dark hair with killer blue eyes, bronze skin, and an exquisite full-figured body. He warned us: "That issue about what's been happening at that factory, is political dynamite. Keep the lid on it.""
- "Gradually the construction gangs cut and dynamited their way through some of the most difficult country in the world."
- "[...] on Sunday, August 23, the L.N.W.R. tunnel was closed to enable the old brickwork to be dynamited away, traffic being diverted meanwhile through the M.R. tunnel."
- "Even the successful battle in the last century to overturn the court’s infamous Plessy vs. Ferguson “separate but equal” doctrine wasn’t a frontal assault that dynamited precedent."
Etymology
Coined by Alfred Nobel in 1867. Ultimately from Ancient Greek δύναμις (dúnamis, “power”) + -ite, most likely under the influence of dynamo or dynamic.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdaɪ.nəˌmaɪt/
- British English: /ˈdʌɪnəmʌɪt/