dynamite
138
5.1
- noun
- /ˈdaɪnəˌmaɪt/
- Specialized
:
dinamita
- After carefully placing the dynamite, they removed everyone to a safe distance before the blast.
- dynamite exploded
- dynamite bomb
- throw dynamite
And Matt, that explains why the coyote always blows up because the it's it's TNT instead of dynamite.
- And Matt, that explains why the coyote always blows up because the it's it's TNT instead of dynamite.
- Like you light a stick of dynamite, it's going to blow up and you know that because that concept's real.
- He's the one in the Wild Bunch who, when they have wired with dynamite the Gatling gun, he's the one who smiles and says, pretty smart.
- The police came because they had a disturbance on their little monitor that something that measured over a stick of dynamite went off.
Examples
-
He always kept a supply of dynamite handy for his mining operations in the mountains.
-
Like recently, when the police actually caught someone throwing dynamite and brought him down to the police station.
Academic text (1996) -
We'll need a wagon, dynamite, tools.
-
Women are active participants both in the preparation of dynamite and in watching the spectacle.
Academic text (1996) -
The work is all done by hand, pick and shovel instead of dynamite and bulldozer.
Fiction book (1993) -
This is dynamite.
-
The Nazis have planted an enormous pile of dynamite on the palace stairs.
Fiction book (1990) -
Soon, daily blastings of dynamite would shatter the last remnants of peacefulness at the hermitage.
Fiction book (1993) -
The construction crew used dynamite to clear the rocky hillside for the new road.
Synonyms
336
5.5
A chemical that reacts very fast, making gas and heat to blast things
1
9.9
A strong explosive like dynamite used to break rock or buildings
1
6.1
An amount of dynamite set to explode and break rock or buildings
Idioms
Compounds
How Explosive
Surface Forms
Morphology
dynamite = dynam + ite
Although historically built from the combining form dynam- ('power') + suffix -ite, the components are not productive standalone English morphemes for learners, so the meaning 'explosive' is not predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Dynamite comes from the Greek root dynam-, seen in dynamic, which means 'power' or 'force', plus the ending -ite used in names. A helpful image is a 'power stone' that gives a sudden, strong push, which is why dynamite is a very powerful explosive.