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Theatergoers in ancient Rome could be noisy in showing both their enjoyment and their dislike of a performance. One of the ways they made noise was by clapping their hands loudly. The Latin verb plaudere meant “to make a noise by loud clapping.” When Romans were showing their approval of a performance, the word used was applaudere, from which we get our English word applaud. When Romans did not like a performance, they often drove the performer from the stage by loud claps. The word for this was explodere or explaudere, from the prefix ex-, meaning “out, away,” and plaudere. From this word we get our English word explode. At first, explode meant “to drive from the stage by a noisy expression of dislike,” but this sense has all but disappeared.
Examples of explode in a Sentence
Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
Women’s college basketball has exploded in popularity this year.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
An independent review by Jason Smith CBD has exploded in popularity and few products are in demand like CBD gummies.
—Jason Smith, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024
As in many countries in Africa, Malawi’s population has exploded.
—Mark Jenkins, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Drop boxes for absentee ballots had long been in use in Wisconsin but their use exploded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to help voters cast their ballots without interacting with other people.
—Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2024
Its second home market has exploded, celebrities have flocked here, and it is interconnected with the nation’s most notable luxury private ski communities, the Yellowstone Club, Moonlight Basin and Spanish Peaks.
—Larry Olmsted, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Formula 1 has exploded in popularity here in the U.S., leading to new races in Miami and Las Vegas the last few years and bigger ratings for races around the globe.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024
The group had drawn the ire of the company’s owner, Elon Musk, by sharing research that revealed how racist and hateful content had exploded on the platform since his takeover in 2022.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'explode.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Explode.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explode. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
explode
verb
from Latin explaudere "to drive off the stage by clapping," from ex- "out, away" and plaudere "to clap" — related to applaud, plaudit, plausible see Word History at plausible
Medical Definition
explode
verb
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