dynamite

See also: dynamité

English

Etymology

Coined by Nobel, the inventor. Ultimately from Ancient Greek δύναμις (dúnamis, “power”) +‎ -ite, possibly under the influence of dynamo or dynamic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdaɪnəmaɪt/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

dynamite (usually uncountable, plural dynamites)

1. A class of explosives made from nitroglycerine in an absorbent medium such as kieselguhr, used in mining and blasting; invented by Alfred Nobel in 1867.
2. (informal, proscribed) A stick of trinitrotoluene (TNT)
3. (figuratively, slang, uncountable) Anything exceptionally dangerous, exciting or wonderful.
   • 2016, Kit Moulton, Annabella (page 108)

     That girl was dynamite. Dark hair with killer blue eyes, bronze skin, and an exquisite full-figured body.

     He warned us: "That issue about what's been happening at that factory, is political dynamite. Keep the lid on it."

Synonyms

• nitro

Translations

class of explosives

• Afrikaans: dinamiet
• Albanian: dinamit (sq) m
• Arabic: دِينَامِيت‎ m (dinamit)
• Armenian: ուժանակ (hy) (užanak)
• Asturian: dinamita f
• Azerbaijani: dinamit
• Basque: dinamita (eu)
• Belarusian: дынамі́т m (dynamít)
• Bulgarian: динами́т m (dinamít)
• Catalan: dinamita f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 炸藥 (zh), 炸药 (zh) (zhàyào)

• Czech: dynamit (cs) n
• Danish: dynamit c
• Dutch: dynamiet (nl) n
• Esperanto: dinamito
• Estonian: dünamiit (et)
• Finnish: dynamiitti (fi)
• French: dynamite (fr) f
• Galician: dinamita f
• Georgian: დინამიტი (dinamiṭi)
• German: Dynamit (de) n
• Hebrew: דִינָמִיט‎ (he) m (dinamit)
• Hindi: बारूद (hi) f (bārūd), बारूत (hi) f (bārūt)
• Hungarian: dinamit (hu)
• Icelandic: dýnamít
• Ido: dinamito (io)
• Ilocano: dinamita
• Irish: dinimít f
• Italian: dinamite (it) f
• Japanese: ダイナマイト (dainamaito)
• Korean: 다이너마이트 (daineomaiteu)

• Lao: ດິນລະເບີດ (din la bœ̄t)
• Latvian: dinamīts f
• Lithuanian: dinamitas f
• Macedonian: динамит m (dinamit)
• Malay: dinamit
• Maori: tainamaiti
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: dynamitt m

  Nynorsk: dynamitt m

• Occitan: dinamita f
• Persian: دینامیت‎ (fa) (dinâmit)
• Polish: dynamit (pl) m
• Portuguese: dinamite (pt) f
• Romanian: dinamită (ro)
• Russian: динами́т (ru) m (dinamít)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: динамит m

  Roman: dinamit (sh) m

• Spanish: dinamita (es) f
• Swahili: baruti
• Swedish: dynamit (sv) n
• Tagalog: dinamita
• Tamil: டைனமைட் (ṭaiṉamaiṭ)
• Telugu: డైనమైటు (ḍainamaiṭu)
• Turkish: dinamit (tr)
• Ukrainian: динамі́т (uk) m (dynamít)
• Urdu: باروت‎ f (bārūt), بارود‎ f (bārūd)
• Vietnamese: mìn (vi), đinamit
• Welsh: deinameit f
• Yiddish: דיינאַמייט‎ f (deynameyt)

stick of trinitrotoluene

• Swedish: dynamitpatron c, dynamitgubbe c

figuratively

• German: Sprengstoff (de) m

Verb

dynamite (third-person singular simple present dynamites, present participle dynamiting, simple past and past participle dynamited)

1. To blow up with dynamite or other high explosive.
   • 1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 101:

     [...] on Sunday, August 23, the L.N.W.R. tunnel was closed to enable the old brickwork to be dynamited away, traffic being diverted meanwhile through the M.R. tunnel.

2. (figuratively) to dismantle or destroy
   • 2021, Harry Litman, Column: Mississippi’s abortion brief dynamites standing law and ‘super duper’ precedents, in: The Los Angeles Times, July 29 2021

     Even the successful battle in the last century to overturn the court’s infamous Plessy vs. Ferguson “separate but equal” doctrine wasn’t a frontal assault that dynamited precedent.

3. This term needs a definition. Please help out and add a definition, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

   dynamite the brakes

4. This term needs a definition. Please help out and add a definition, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

   the brakes will dynamite

Translations

to blow up with dynamite or other high explosive

• Asturian: dinamitar
• Catalan: dinamitar (ca)
• Danish: demolere
• Dutch: dynamiteren (nl)
• Finnish: räjäyttää dynamiitilla
• French: dynamiter (fr)
• Galician: dinamitar

• Ido: dinamitagar (io)
• Irish: réab le dinimít
• Maori: tainamaiti
• Portuguese: dinamitar
• Spanish: dinamitar (es)

See also

• cordite

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.na.mit/

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophones: dynamitent, dynamites

Verb

dynamite

1. first-person singular present indicative of dynamiter
2. third-person singular present indicative of dynamiter
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of dynamiter
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of dynamiter
5. second-person singular imperative of dynamiter