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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
Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
If Colorado voters ban mountain lion hunting, would the feline’s population explode — or stabilize on its own?
—Elise Schmelzer, The Denver Post, 5 Nov. 2024
There’s the music video — still perhaps the greatest of the 21st century so far — full of bathhouse coffins, exploding beds, disorienting contact lenses and bewitching dance moves.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 5 Nov. 2024
Claims of election fraud exploded in 2020 as Trump and his allies sought to portray his narrow election loss as something more nefarious.
—Juliann Ventura, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Explode.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explode. Accessed 28 Nov. 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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