napalm
1 of 2noun
na·palm ˈnā-ˌpäm 
-ˌpälm
-ˌpälm also ˈna-,
also nə-ˈpä(l)m
1
: a thickener consisting of a mixture of aluminum soaps used in jelling gasoline (as for incendiary bombs)
2
: fuel jelled with napalm
napalm
2 of 2verb
napalmed; napalming; napalms
transitive verb
: to assault with napalm
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Bob Carden, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Sep. 2022 Already, the Berrigans each had served years-long prison sentences for stealing hundreds of draft cards and destroying them with homemade napalm. Erin Cox, Washington Post, 24 May 2022 The American military’s horrific tactics—spraying napalm, carpet bombing, massacring civilians—were shocking enough, but to see so many young Americans dying on the evening news was much too upsetting, according to the great minds of the Pentagon. John R. Macarthur, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022 White phosphorus is bad enough, but some have identified the weapon as something even worse: a Soviet-era anti-personnel weapon which scatters hundreds of miniature napalm bombs. David Hambling, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2022 Some military scholars have argued that even napalm is a more humane alternative. Rachel Lance, Wired, 20 Mar. 2022 The United States’ use of napalm in Vietnam created international outrage. Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2022 The stark images quickly became a symbol of the brutality in Ukraine, as indelible as other visceral moments from previous conflicts: the sobbing children fleeing napalm in Vietnam, the young woman keening over dead students at Kent State. Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Mar. 2022 Jane Recker, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 June 2022 That bridge was napalmed with Antonio Brown’s gameday tweet on Robert Kraft. Albert Breer, SI.com, 3 Oct. 2019 The entire Texas defense was napalmed in that 45-38 loss at Royal-Memorial Stadium, the line included. Nick Moyle, ExpressNews.com, 17 Sep. 2019 See More
Noun
All told, nearly 300 B-29 bombers dropped 500,000 cylinders of napalm on Tokyo. Bob Carden, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Sep. 2022 Already, the Berrigans each had served years-long prison sentences for stealing hundreds of draft cards and destroying them with homemade napalm. Erin Cox, Washington Post, 24 May 2022 The American military’s horrific tactics—spraying napalm, carpet bombing, massacring civilians—were shocking enough, but to see so many young Americans dying on the evening news was much too upsetting, according to the great minds of the Pentagon. John R. Macarthur, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022 White phosphorus is bad enough, but some have identified the weapon as something even worse: a Soviet-era anti-personnel weapon which scatters hundreds of miniature napalm bombs. David Hambling, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2022 Some military scholars have argued that even napalm is a more humane alternative. Rachel Lance, Wired, 20 Mar. 2022 The United States’ use of napalm in Vietnam created international outrage. Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2022 The stark images quickly became a symbol of the brutality in Ukraine, as indelible as other visceral moments from previous conflicts: the sobbing children fleeing napalm in Vietnam, the young woman keening over dead students at Kent State. Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Mar. 2022 Verb
In 1980, the United Nations banned the use of weapons like napalm against civilians, but these regulations don’t apply on the battlefield. Jane Recker, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 June 2022 That bridge was napalmed with Antonio Brown’s gameday tweet on Robert Kraft. Albert Breer, SI.com, 3 Oct. 2019 The entire Texas defense was napalmed in that 45-38 loss at Royal-Memorial Stadium, the line included. Nick Moyle, ExpressNews.com, 17 Sep. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
naphthene + palmitate
First Known Use
Noun
1942, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1950, in the meaning defined above