Meaning of high explosive | Babel Free

Definitions

A chemical explosive capable of detonation rather than solely of deflagration; a chemical explosive capable of reacting at a sufficiently-fast rate to produce a shock wave which propagates the reaction throughout the explosive mass; a chemical explosive capable of producing an explosion even when unconfined.

Examples

“Having completed their task, Fireman Page telephoned from a lineside box to the next signal cabin, briefly reported the incident and said that, as no high explosive had dropped and the track was safe, they proposed proceeding "at caution".”

“But signalman Bridges was never to answer driver Gimbert's desperate question. A deafening, massive blast blew the wagon to shreds, the 44 high-explosive bombs exploding like simultaneous hits from the aircraft they should have been dropped from. The station was instantly reduced to bits of debris, and the line to a huge crater.”

CEFR level