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Glite Dictionary
balloon bomb

balloon bomb

1 7.9
An explosive that a balloon carries to travel far and explode
  • noun
  • /bəˈluːn bɑm/
  • Archaic
translation icon : bomba de globo
  • He was also part of a secret World War II mission "The Fire-Fly Project" that engaged African American smokejumpers in a defense of the Pacific Northwest from Japanese balloon bombs floated across the ocean.

Examples

  • The U.S. military worked to neutralize Japanese balloon bombs that threatened the mainland during World War II.

  • "The battalion was assigned the mission of the recovery and destruction of Japanese balloon bombs, with the added mission of the suppression of forest fires started by the aforementioned bombs," according to U.S. Army archives posted on a website devoted to the Triple Nickel.

    Blog text (25)

  • Felix Loats was killed by a Japanese balloon bomb in 1944.

    Blog text (19)

  • Many rural areas were at risk from balloon bombs dropped by Japan, which carried explosives over long distances.

  • Residents were warned to report any sightings of strange balloon bombs drifting into their neighborhoods.

Synonyms

bomb
vsballoon bomb
∞ 1.8

A container with explosive material that makes a large explosion and damages things

is carried aloft to travel long distances and deliver explosives to targets
Fugo
vsballoon bomb
  • Archaic
9.9

A bomb attached to a large paper balloon carried by wind to distant places during World War II

is the general airborne weapon type not only the WWII Japanese versions

Surface Forms

balloon bomb singular
balloon bombs plural

Morphology

balloon + bomb

The meaning is directly and literally derived from the constituents: a bomb carried by or associated with a balloon. This straightforward noun+noun compounding follows a common, cross-linguistic compositional pattern and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Balloon bomb comes from World War II, when the Japanese tied small bombs to paper or gas balloons so strong winds high above the ocean would carry them to far places. The picture of a floating bomb helps you remember the idea, so the term means 'a bomb carried by a balloon'.