Bomb

(bŭm), n. [Fr. bombe, It. & Sp. bomba, a bomb-shell, Lat. bombus, Gr. βόμβος, a humming or buzzing noise, a hollow, deep sound.]

1Sense 1. A great noise; a hollow sound. [Obs.]

A pillar of iron . . . which if you had struck, would make . . . a great bomb in the chamber beneath. Bacon.

2Sense 2. (Mil.) A hollow ball or shell of cast iron filled with explosive materials, and furnished with a fuse, which being ignited when the missile is discharged from a mortar or howitzer, burns during its flight, and causes it to explode with destructive violence when it falls. They are now commonly called shells.

3Sense 3. The stroke upon a bell.

(bŭm), v. t. To attack with bombs; to bombard. [Obs.]

Villeroy . . . marches on secure, To bomb the monks, and scare the ladies. Prior.

To sound. [Obs.] What overcharged piece of melancholy Is this, breaks in between my wishes thus, With bombing sighs? B. Jonson.