a projectile, formerly usually spherical, filled with a bursting charge and exploded by means of a fuze, by impact, or otherwise, now generally designed to be dropped from an aircraft.
any similar missile or explosive device used as a weapon, to disperse crowds, etc.: a time bomb; a smoke bomb.
a rough spherical or ellipsoidal mass of lava, ejected from a volcano and hardened while falling.
See
a long forward pass, esp. one to a teammate who scores a touchdown.
The play was a bomb and closed after two performances.
an absolute failure; fiasco:The play was a bomb and closed after two performances.
Chiefly Brit.an overwhelming success:The novel is selling like a bomb.
a sudden, unexpected accent or rhythmic figure played by a drummer during a performance.
a lead or lead-lined container for transporting and storing radioactive materials.
Seeatomic bomb.
nuclear weapons collectively.
a spectacular program or system failure.
a powerful automobile or other vehicle.
—v.t.
to hurl bombs at or drop bombs upon, as from an airplane; bombard: The enemy planes bombed the city.
to explode by means of a bomb or explosive.
to deliberately cause (a computer system) to fail with a program written for the purpose.
—v.i.
to hurl or drop bombs.
to explode a bomb or bombs.
to be or make a complete failure, esp. to fail to please or gain an audience; flop (sometimes fol. by out): His last play bombed on Broadway. The business bombed out with a $25,000 debt.
(of a computer program or system) to fail spectacularly.
to move very quickly:a.m. They came bombing through here on their motorcycles at 2