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Glite Dictionary
bomblet

bomblet

1 9.7
A small explosive device released from a larger weapon that spreads out over an area
  • noun
  • /ˈbɑːmˌlɛt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : bomba de racimo
  • The United States dropped 80 million cluster bomblets on Laos, leading to many unexploded devices remaining in the area.
  • cluster bomblets
  • unexploded bomblets

Examples

  • About 150 yards into the jungle, the boys spotted an unexploded bomblet from a U.S. cluster bomb dropped here during the Vietnam War.

  • I don't have proof, but I'll wager the remaining bomblets have "Made in USA" stamped on them.

    Blog text (14)

  • It would be like a cluster bomb, but instead of dropping bomblets, it would fling out strips of raw bacon, all rolled up into little balls.

    Blog text (3)

  • But if our own warlords and kleptocrats keep sowing dragon's teeth all over the place, along with cluster bomblets and mines and every other war-toy invention, then there are yet another set of reasons humanity is on the way out.

    Blog text (3)

  • Decades-old leftover bomblets kill dozens of people every year, posing a constant danger to local communities.

Synonyms

cluster bomblet
vsbomblet
  • Specialized
9.4

A small bomb released from a larger bomb that spreads and explodes over a wide area

focuses on dispersing widely rather than on guaranteed detonation
bombie
vsbomblet
  • Jargon
9.9

A small unexploded bomb left behind after being dropped

is the active device meant to disperse and detonate, not an undetonated remnant

Compounds

cluster bomblet
  • Specialized
9.4

A small bomb released from a larger bomb that spreads and explodes over a wide area

How Big

warhead
  • Specialized
225 6.8
bomb
∞ 1.8
grenade
170 4.4
bomblet
  • Specialized
1 9.7
pellet
23 4.9

Surface Forms

bomblet singular
bomblets plural

Morphology

bomblet = bomb (transparent) = bomb + let

The meaning 'small bomb' follows directly from 'bomb' + diminutive suffix '-let' and is obvious to learners who know 'bomb'.

Etymology

Bomblet is formed from bomb plus the little ending -let, which gives the idea 'small one'. So a bomblet is literally a 'small bomb', fitting its meaning as one of the tiny explosives that scatter from a cluster bomb.