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Glite Dictionary
💣 A hidden explosive 💣 To send an explosive
to letter bomb

to letter bomb

8.8
To send a bomb hidden in an envelope to hurt someone
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈlɛtər bɑm/
  • Offensive
translation icon : enviar una carta bomba
  • Authorities warned that sending a letter bomb is a serious crime with severe consequences.

Examples

  • Perhaps she was clever, like a terrorist, and had ridden the elevator to the floor above mine, smoked a cigarette, and then walked down the flight of stairs to deliver her white letter bomb to my door.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The police discovered a letter bomb addressed to a government official, prompting an immediate investigation.

  • After opening the package, he was horrified to find a letter bomb hidden inside.

Surface Forms

letter bomb infinitive
letter bombed past
letter bombed past participle
letter bombing present participle
letter bombs third person singular

Morphology

letter + bomb

The meaning (an explosive device concealed in mailed correspondence) is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'letter' (mailed message) with 'bomb' (explosive device). This is a regular compound/nominal construction that maps straightforwardly onto its parts and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would very likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

The verb letter bomb comes from the same image: to send a letter that is really a hidden bomb inside. That's why to letter bomb someone means 'to send an explosive device hidden in a letter or package', usually to harm them.