bomb

The word “bomb” means an explosive device designed to cause damage or destruction. In plain terms, an explosive device, or (informally) to fail badly or to be excellent, depending on context.

“Bomb” is pronounced bom (/bɑm/ in IPA).

Here is “bomb” used in a sentence: “The bomb was defused just in time.”

Depending on how it is used, “bomb” can be a noun, a verb and an adjective.

The word “bomb” comes from French. From French bombe, from Italian bomba, ultimately from Greek bómbos, "a booming sound" — imitating the noise of an explosion.

“Bomb” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Bomb” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: an explosive device designed to cause damage or destruction.

Both are explosive devices, but they differ in size and delivery. A grenade is small and thrown by hand or launched over short range, while a bomb is generally larger and dropped, planted, or delivered by other means. All grenades are a kind of explosive, but "bomb" usually implies something bigger or more powerful.

Yes. Beyond the literal explosive, "bomb" is widely used figuratively. A "bombshell" is a piece of shocking news, and to say a film or joke "bombed" means it failed badly. Confusingly, in some slang "the bomb" means something excellent, so tone and context decide whether the word is praise or criticism.

Figuratively, to say a film, joke, or performance "bombed" means it failed badly or fell completely flat. The sense borrows the destructive image of the noun. It sits oddly beside the slang "the bomb," which means the opposite — something great — so listeners rely on context to tell the two apart.