blasting cap
11
7.9
- noun
- /ˈblæstɪŋ kæp/
- Specialized
:
detonador
- In order to detonate the explosives, the technician attached a blasting cap to the main charge.
- blasting caps and dynamite
- blasting cap or a fuse
- blasting caps, detonator
And the blasting caps are extremely sensitive.
- And the blasting caps are extremely sensitive.
Examples
-
To safely set off the dynamite, make sure to insert the blasting cap before igniting it.
-
There's a rock quarry on the next ridge to the west, they should have dynamite and blasting caps.
-
And, very carefully, remove the blasting cap.
-
- These are blasting caps.
-
Hand me down those blasting caps.
-
And the blasting caps are extremely sensitive.
-
That strange fluid is acid, designed to eat through blasting caps to set off the explosion.
-
The son of peripatetic librarians, Wheeler had lost part of a finger to a blasting cap when he was a kid in Ohio.
Academic text (1991) -
The blasting cap exploded, sending fire racing through the detonator cord at 21,000 feet per second.
Fiction book (1996) -
The construction crew carefully handled the blasting cap to avoid any accidental detonation.
Synonyms
69
6.7
A device that makes an explosion happen, for example in fireworks or mining
39
7.3
A small device that makes a loud pop when it is set off
1
6.8
A small object or bit of explosive used to start a larger explosion
1
7.1
A device or person who makes things blow up to destroy buildings
1
9.7
A small metal piece with powder that explodes when hit to fire a gun
How Powerful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is compositionally derived from 'blasting' (related to explosives/blasting operations) and 'cap' (a small detonator device), so it refers to a small detonating device used to trigger blasting. This is a literal, domain-specific combination that a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer, even if the technical term may be unfamiliar.
Etymology
Blasting cap comes from a literal image: a very small cap that makes a blast. It is a tiny device filled with a detonator that 'triggers' larger explosives, so the name helps you remember it is the small part used to set off a big charge.