Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

detonate

[det-n-ayt] / ˈdɛt nˌeɪt /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Their explosive payloads did not detonate, and it’s entirely possible they were never meant to.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026

Alternatively, specially-equipped vessels, drones or aircraft mimic the magnetic fields, pressure or noise created by a passing ship to detonate the mines before they can do any harm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

An attempt to detonate or diffuse the bomb failed, so Officer Brian Murray and three others were lowered into the crater.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

According to the leaked file reviewed by The Times, the LAPD’s internal investigators found Hogg made a “gross underestimation” of the explosive weight of the fireworks that police intended to detonate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026

My water powers would protect us both, and we’d detonate the charges from a quarter mile away.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

When roughly a mile from its target, it uses artificial intelligence to lock onto the target and detonates nearby, according to its users.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

In these events, an incoming object such as a comet detonates above the ground, releasing intense heat and shockwaves that reach Earth's surface.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 19, 2025

If Wilder detonates early and finishes Herndon quicker than Torrez did, expect someone somewhere to shout: "He's back!"

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025

He detonates narrative warfare wherever he goes, so it’s difficult to decipher what is planted to create spectacle to feed the mangy cult and what is a true trash fire of a human.

From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2024

Halftime Right after you glance at April waving from the bleachers, your stomach detonates: KABOOM! and you lose it right there behind the bench in Pernell’s gym bag.

From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander

When munitions are detonated underwater, the blast can spread contaminants through the surrounding environment.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

The American strike came days after President Trump said the U.S. had removed or detonated all mines in the waterway and warned that any vessel laying new ones would be destroyed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

In June 1981, before becoming president, he survived a bombing claimed by the Mujahedin-e Khalq group, when an explosive device concealed in a tape recorder detonated during a speech.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

Instead, the round detonated prematurely at 453 meters, or about 1,486 feet, in the air, around 3,300 feet from its firing location, according to the report.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026

On the automobile bridge, Mike Bogo, the three-hundred-pound Poughkeepsie barkeep in charge of setting off explosives to signal the lane number of the winner, detonated five bombs, for Cornell.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

"It depends on the area where the wreck and munitions lie. Currents and seabed morphology play a major role. In some cases, detonating them can do more harm than good," she explains.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

The drone, designed by Perennial Autonomy, a company backed by former Google CEO and billionaire Eric Schmidt using Ukrainian engineers, destroys other drones by detonating close by and has proven popular in Ukraine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

If your goal is to save money on taxes, detonating the tax torpedo is not ideal.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

VanSciver urged all residents to “leave the shows to the pros” and refrain from purchasing and detonating their own fireworks during the holiday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2025

As I was preparing for this book, I wrote an article for The Daily Telegraph, hoping to elicit a few punctuation horror stories, and it was like detonating a dam.

From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author




Vocabulary lists containing detonate


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training