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suicide bomber

suicide bomber

42 5.5
A person who kills others and themselves by making a bomb explode
  • noun
  • /ˈsuːɪˌsaɪd ˈbɑːmər/
  • NSFW
translation icon : terrorista suicida
  • In many acts of terrorism, the perpetrator is a suicide bomber.
  • terrorists and suicide bombers
  • suicide bombers attacked
  • suicide bombers killed

It was one suicide bomber in a, in a SUV.

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Examples

  • Forensic experts believe that six suicide bombers were responsible for the attack.

  • This could very well be their next suicide bomber.

  • But in the hands of suicide bombers, the future can look quite different.

  • Yes, it is getting harder to find suicide bombers, and all the good ones are gone.

  • We do not know why there was no perimeter defense set up that might have stopped the suicide bomber.

  • The next day, a suicide bomber killed fifteen bus riders.

    Academic text (2005)
  • A few days later, a suicide bomber, apparently targeting the Huthis, struck a provincial medical center. Sa'da province

    Academic text (2012)
  • The argument that Israeli checkpoints humiliate Palestinians to such an extent that they become suicide bombers in retaliation is common.

    Academic text (2015)
  • In Victor's telling, suicide bombers are always "martyrs," and their recruiters, dispatchers, and helpers are "activists."

    Academic text (2015)
  • A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in a crowded market, causing numerous casualties.

Surface Forms

Morphology

suicide + bomber

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'suicide' (the deliberate act of killing oneself) with 'bomber' (someone who uses bombs); a B1 learner who knows both words can infer this refers to a person who carries out a bombing and intends to die. This compound follows regular English composition patterns and has clear cross-linguistic parallels, so its sense is transparently predictable from its parts.

Etymology

Suicide bomber joins the words suicide (killing yourself) and bomber (someone who uses a bomb). The image is simple: a person who attacks with a bomb and dies doing it, so the term means 'a person who attacks with a bomb and intends to kill others and themselves'.