high explosive
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.96 in modern English
32
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
5
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A chemical explosive capable of detonation rather than solely of deflagration; a chemical explosive capable of reacting at a sufficiently-fast rate to produce a shock wave which propagates the reaction throughout the explosive mass; a chemical explosive capable of producing an explosion even when unconfined.
Example Sentences
- "Having completed their task, Fireman Page telephoned from a lineside box to the next signal cabin, briefly reported the incident and said that, as no high explosive had dropped and the track was safe, they proposed proceeding "at caution"."
- "But signalman Bridges was never to answer driver Gimbert's desperate question. A deafening, massive blast blew the wagon to shreds, the 44 high-explosive bombs exploding like simultaneous hits from the aircraft they should have been dropped from. The station was instantly reduced to bits of debris, and the line to a huge crater."