bombshell

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English

Etymology

From bomb +‎ shell.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (UK):(file)

Noun

bombshell (plural bombshells)

  2. (historical) Any grenade, mortar shell, or artillery shell (hollow metal object) containing a charge that can explode.
    Synonym: bomb (in historical sense)
  3. (figurative) Something that is very surprising, shocking, amazing or sensational.
    • 2010, Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway, chapter 5, in Merchants of Doubt:
      Singer and Jeffreys had focused their attention on cancer risk, but the bombshell of the report was the danger to children.
    • 2025 February 6, Taylor Luck, Ghada Abdulfattah, “How Trump’s proposed plan for Gaza has united an outraged Arab world”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
      U.S. President Donald Trump’s bombshell proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate its Palestinian inhabitants has made the forced transfer of populations – a war crime – a policy discussion, galvanizing Arab states.
  4. (by extension) Someone who is very attractive; a sex symbol.
    Diana Dors, the 1950s blonde bombshell
    • 2021 May 4, Ruth La Ferla, “On That Bombshell Billie Eilish Cover for British Vogue”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:
      The singer once identified by her shock of green hair has gone blonde and full bombshell, swapping her trademark sweats for a style more domme than deb: pink Gucci corset and skirt over Agent Provocateur skivvies, accessorized with latex gloves and leggings.

Derived terms

Translations

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