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Glite Dictionary
TNT

TNT

26 6.0
A strong explosive made from a yellow material used to break rock or destroy buildings
  • noun
  • /tiː ɛn tiː/
  • Specialized
translation icon : TNT (trinitrotolueno)
  • Estimates put the energy released as equivalent to 100 gigatons of TNT
  • megatons of TNT
  • pounds of TNT
  • tons of TNT

Yes, that's right, sugar and fat have a higher energy density than TNT.

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Examples

  • The demolition team used TNT to bring down the old building safely.

  • What would be the result if someone just flew a plane loaded with TNT into it?

    Blog text (25)

  • This stuff is as powerful as TNT.

    Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

  • Some TNT or some composition B?

    Saving Private Ryan (1998)

  • Pack as much TNT into the barricades as you can.

    Jackboots on Whitehall (2010)

  • Did you know that an atomic bomb has more power than 50 million tons of TNT?

    Jesus Revolution (2023)

  • The explosion had a TNT equivalent of ten megatons.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of TNT.

    Oppenheimer (2023)

  • Ahead of them on the track is an overloaded wagon with barrels marked "TNT."

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The blast has the force of 12 megatons of TNT, 800 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

    Academic text (1992)

Synonyms

trinitrotoluene
vsTNT
  • Specialized
1 9.7

A strong chemical explosive used in bombs and demolition work

is the common abbreviated name used especially for military munitions
explosive compound
vsTNT
  • Specialized
1 5.8

A chemical that can explode and cause a sudden violent reaction

is one particular chemical example often used in munitions rather than any explosive
bursting explosive
vsTNT
  • NSFW
8.5

A strong chemical charge in shells or bombs that makes a violent blast

is the single chemical compound not the weapon type used to destroy targets

How Powerful

plastic explosive
  • NSFW
9 6.1
TNT
  • Specialized
26 6.0
to dynamite
6 5.1
lyddite
  • Archaic
9.9
gunpowder
51 3.2

Surface Forms

TNT singular
TNTs plural

Morphology

TNT = trinitrotoluene (semi-transparent) = T + N + T

TNT is an initialism that directly corresponds to the full chemical name, so the relation is clear when the expansion is known. [Postprocessing: changed transparency from 'transparent' to 'semi-transparent' for abbreviation]

Etymology

The word TNT is a short form of the chemical name trinitrotoluene, which breaks into tri- 'three', nitro 'a strong chemical group', and toluene 'a common chemical'. A helpful way to remember is that TNT has 'three nitro parts', and those parts make it a powerful explosive used to blast things apart.