Etymology

From bomb +‎ shellCategory:English compound terms#BOMBSHELL.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (General American) /ˈbɑmʃɛl/, (Received Pronunciation) /ˈbɒmʃɛl/Category:English 2-syllable words#BOMBSHELLCategory:English 2-syllable words#BOMBSHELLCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#BOMBSHELL

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#BOMBSHELL
• Hyphenation: bomb‧shell

Noun

bombshell (plural bombshells)Category:English lemmas#BOMBSHELLCategory:English nouns#BOMBSHELLCategory:English countable nouns#BOMBSHELLCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#BOMBSHELLCategory:Pages with entries#BOMBSHELLCategory:Pages with 1 entry#BOMBSHELL

2. (historicalCategory:English terms with historical senses#BOMBSHELL) Any grenade, mortar shell, or artillery shell (hollow metal object) containing a charge that can explode.

   Synonym: bomb (in historical sense)

3. (figurative) Something that is very surprising, shocking, amazing or sensational.
   • 1923, Ernest Bramah, The Eyes of Max Carrados:

     "This—this is a bombshell!" exclaimed the Colonel. "What does it mean?"
     "Politics," replied Carrados tersely.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BOMBSHELL

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
   • 2010, Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway, chapter 5, in Merchants of Doubt:

     Singer and Jeffreys had focused their attention on cancer risk, but the bombshell of the report was the danger to children.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BOMBSHELL

   • 2025 February 6, Taylor Luck, Ghada Abdulfattah, “How Trump’s proposed plan for Gaza has united an outraged Arab world”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     U.S. President Donald Trump’s bombshell proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate its Palestinian inhabitants has made the forced transfer of populations – a war crime – a policy discussion, galvanizing Arab states.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BOMBSHELL

4. (by extension) Someone who is very attractive; a sex symbol.

   Diana Dors, the 1950s blonde bombshellCategory:English terms with usage examples#BOMBSHELL

   • 2021 May 4, Ruth La Ferla, “On That Bombshell Billie Eilish Cover for British Vogue”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     The singer once identified by her shock of green hair has gone blonde and full bombshell, swapping her trademark sweats for a style more domme than deb: pink Gucci corset and skirt over Agent Provocateur skivvies, accessorized with latex gloves and leggings.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BOMBSHELL