implosion
Americannoun
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the act of imploding; a bursting inward (opposed to explosion).
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Phonetics.
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the occlusive phase of stop consonants.
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(of a stop consonant) the nasal release heard in the common pronunciation of eaten, sudden, or mitten, in which the vowel of the final syllable is greatly reduced.
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the ingressive release of a suction stop.
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noun
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the act or process of imploding
the implosion of a light bulb
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phonetics the suction or inhalation of breath employed in the pronunciation of an ingressive consonant
Etymology
Origin of implosion
First recorded in 1875–80; im- 1 + (ex)plosion
Explanation
An implosion is the abrupt, violent collapse of something large. When an old building needs to be removed to make way for new structures, implosion is often used as a controlled way to destroy it. A real scientific implosion happens when the pressure inside and outside of an object vary so much that the object is crushed, or collapses in on itself. This can happen, for example, to a submarine under the water or to a collapsing star in the galaxy. The implosion of a building involves careful, small explosions that make the middle fall as the sides collapse inwardly.
Vocabulary lists containing implosion
The Graveyard Book
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Darius the Great Is Not Okay
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Grounded
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Not even gold has provided sanctuary, with bullion on Thursday dropping to its cheapest since the early-February precious metal implosion.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026
Evidence that Girardi, a power broker in California politics and the law, had misappropriated millions of dollars in settlement money from the Indonesians led to the implosion of his law firm five years ago.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026
Instead of an implosion we saw Scotland reversing the narrative.
From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026
He has reported on the pharmaceutical gray market, the implosion of Healthcare.gov, Medicare fraud, the blood-testing company Theranos, abuses at the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026
“There is no doubt,” he added, “that the implosion method is of great interest.”
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
