Webster's English Dictionary

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explosion

ex.plo.sion \ik-'splo--zh*n\ n [L explosion-, explosio act of driving off 
   by clapping, fr. expl]osus, pp. of explodere 1: the act or an instance of 
   exploding : as  1a: a large-scale, rapid, and spectacular expansion, 
   outbreak, or other uph eaval 1b: a violent outburst of feeling  2: the 
   release of stoppage-impounded breath that occurs in one kind of arti 
   culation of stop consonants