explosive
n. C / Un. a substance that can blow up or burst with a lot of force. People use these in construction, mining, or for weapons.
n. a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly. Often used in plural form when referring to a supply of such materials.
The workers used a powerful explosive to clear the rocks.
Security teams at the airport are trained to detect any trace of a liquid explosive in passenger luggage.
Demolition experts carefully calculated the placement of each explosive to ensure the old stadium collapsed inward without damaging the surrounding residential blocks.
From Latin explōs-, stem of the perfect passive participle of explōdō + the suffix -ive.
Often used in the plural ('explosives') when referring to a category or a stock of materials.