superbombn.
/ˈsuːpəˌbɒm/, /ˈs(j)uːpəˌbɒm/, U.S. /ˈsupərˌbɑm/ 1. Any very powerful bomb. Also figurative and in extended use.
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1915 A. G. Heath Let. Sept. (1917) 178 They also fire a sort of superbomb, which is worse even than a trench mortar.
1936 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 8 Feb. 286/1 There is no doubt that the super-bomb has been specially designed for the destruction of the super-city.
1967 W. K. Everson Compl. Films Laurel & Hardy 206/1 Laurel & Hardy..pass themselves off as sleuths and hire out to escort the inventor of a new super-bomb.
1981 N.Y. Mag. 3 Aug. 22/3 The tanker is now a superbomb, and a massive oil slick could turn into a tidal wave of flames.
2007 Sunday Star (Nexis) 11 Feb. 30 The 30,000lb Massive Ordnance Penetrator ‘superbomb’ will be able to penetrate 26ft of reinforced concrete before exploding its deadly 6,000lb payload, wiping out targets 200ft deep.
2. A fission bomb. Now historical.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > explosive device > [noun] > bomb > atomic or fission
atomic bomb1914
atom bomb1921
superbomb1940
uranium bomb1940
fission bomb1941
A-bomb1945
nuclear bomb1945
plutonium bomb1946
device1954
super1982
1940 O. R. Frisch in Ann. Rep. Progr. Chem. 36 16 Since the energy release in this reaction would be about 105 times larger than in ordinary chemical reactions..it has been feared that it might form the basis for the construction of a super-bomb exceeding the action of ordinary bombs by a factor of 106 or more.
1964 M. Gowing Brit. & Atomic Energy 1939–45 i. 34 A chain fission reaction was a possibility, the inevitable question had arisen. Could this energy be harnessed for making a super bomb?
2010 E. Sass et al. Mental Floss Hist. United States 253 The Nazis could possibly be developing a super-bomb.
3. A fusion or hydrogen bomb. Cf. super n.11 Now chiefly historical.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > explosive device > [noun] > bomb > fusion or hydrogen
hydrogen bomb1947
fusion bomb1950
superbomb1950
super1951
cobalt bomb1954
1950 Sci. News Let. 4 Feb. 69/3 It is not the same process as that visualized for the super-bomb of heavy hydrogen.
1961 New Statesman 15 Sept. 330/1 For this interpretation not least among the exhibits in evidence is Krushchev's grim emphasis on his 100-megaton superbomb, which American experts regard as militarily poor but incredibly dirty.
1975 Sci. Amer. Oct. 106/2 It called for the fastest possible development of the hydrogen bomb, which was widely referred to at the time as the superbomb (or simply the Super).
2009 J. Forsythe 3 R's Nucl. Power 29 Dr. Edward Teller..called the development of the hydrogen bomb or ‘super bomb’ an important piece of scientific history.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1915