Etymology

Formed from na(phthenic) palm(itic) acid, the two original components of the substance.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈneɪ.pɑːm/, /ˈneɪ.pɑlm/Category:English 2-syllable words#NAPALMCategory:English 2-syllable words#NAPALMCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#NAPALM

  • Audio (Mid-Atlantic US):

    (file)

    Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#NAPALM

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

    Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#NAPALM

Noun

napalm (usually uncountable, plural napalms)Category:English lemmas#NAPALMCategory:English nouns#NAPALMCategory:English uncountable nouns#NAPALMCategory:English countable nouns#NAPALMCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. A highly flammable, viscous substance, designed to stick to the body while burning, used in warfare as an incendiary especially in wooded areas. [from 1942^[1]]
   • 2013 April 1, Robert M. Neer, “PARIAH”, in Napalm: An American Biography‎, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 140:

     A trio of needle-nosed silver Phantom jets descended from the clouds and dropped a colossal load of napalm on the jungle. Flames turned the screen red and orange. Silence followed.
     “You smell that?” Kilgore said, almost to himself. Then, louder, “You smell that?” Lance, the champion surfer, asked “What?” Kilgore, lit by the glow of burning trees, retorted, “Napalm, son—nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed for 12 hours, and when it was all over I walked up; we didn’t find one of ’em … not one stinking dink body. But the smell—you know, that gasoline smell—the whole hill—it smelled like … victory.”

     Category:English terms with quotations#NAPALM

2. (figurative) Anything very incendiary; dynamite.

   When leaked, the controversial documents proved to be political napalm.Category:English terms with usage examples#NAPALM

   sexual napalmCategory:English terms with usage examples#NAPALM

Verb

napalm (third-person singular simple present napalms, present participle napalming, simple past and past participle napalmed)Category:English lemmas#NAPALMCategory:English verbs#NAPALMCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#NAPALM) To spray or attack with napalm. [from 1950^[1]]

References

Anagrams

• nam pla

Etymology

Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Dutch terms borrowed from English#NAPALMCategory:Dutch terms derived from English#NAPALM napalm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnaː.pɑlm/Category:Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation#NAPALM

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:Dutch terms with audio pronunciation#NAPALM
• Hyphenation: na‧palm

Noun

napalm m or n (uncountable, no diminutive)Category:Dutch lemmas#NAPALMCategory:Dutch nouns#NAPALMCategory:Dutch uncountable nouns#NAPALMCategory:Dutch entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:Dutch masculine nouns#NAPALMCategory:Dutch neuter nouns#NAPALMCategory:Dutch nouns with multiple genders#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. napalm

Further reading

• napalm on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl

Etymology

From EnglishCategory:Finnish terms borrowed from English#NAPALMCategory:Finnish terms derived from English#NAPALM napalm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɑpɑlm/, [ˈnɑ̝pɑ̝lm]Category:Finnish 2-syllable words#NAPALMCategory:Finnish terms with IPA pronunciation#NAPALM
• Rhymes: -ɑpɑlmCategory:Rhymes:Finnish/ɑpɑlm#NAPALMCategory:Rhymes:Finnish/ɑpɑlm/2 syllables#NAPALM
• Syllabification^(key): na‧palm
• Hyphenation^(key): na‧palm

Noun

napalmCategory:Finnish lemmas#NAPALMCategory:Finnish nouns#NAPALMCategory:Finnish entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. napalm

Further reading

• “napalm”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023

Etymology

Borrowed from EnglishCategory:French terms borrowed from English#NAPALMCategory:French terms derived from English#NAPALM napalm. First attested in 1953.^[1]

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#NAPALM

Noun

napalm m (uncountable)Category:French lemmas#NAPALMCategory:French nouns#NAPALMCategory:French uncountable nouns#NAPALMCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:French masculine nouns#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. napalm

References

Further reading

• “napalm”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Etymology

Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Polish terms borrowed from English#NAPALMCategory:Polish terms derived from English#NAPALM napalm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈna.palm/Category:Polish 2-syllable words#NAPALMCategory:Polish terms with IPA pronunciation#NAPALM

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:Polish terms with audio pronunciation#NAPALM
• Rhymes: -apalmCategory:Rhymes:Polish/apalm#NAPALMCategory:Rhymes:Polish/apalm/2 syllables#NAPALM
• Syllabification: na‧palm

Noun

napalm m inan (related adjective napalmowy)Category:Polish lemmas#NAPALMCategory:Polish nouns#NAPALMCategory:Polish entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:Polish masculine nouns#NAPALMCategory:Polish inanimate nouns#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. napalm (highly flammable, viscous substance, designed to stick to the body while burning, used in warfare as an incendiary, especially in wooded areas)

Further reading

• napalm in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• napalm in PWN's encyclopedia

Alternative forms

• napalme (uncommon)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Portuguese terms borrowed from English#NAPALMCategory:Portuguese unadapted borrowings from English#NAPALMCategory:Portuguese terms derived from English#NAPALM napalm. First attested in 1945.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -awmi, -almɨCategory:Rhymes:Portuguese/awmi#NAPALMCategory:Rhymes:Portuguese/awmi/3 syllables#NAPALMCategory:Rhymes:Portuguese/almɨ#NAPALMCategory:Rhymes:Portuguese/almɨ/3 syllables#NAPALM

Noun

napalm m (usually uncountable, plural napalms)Category:Portuguese lemmas#NAPALMCategory:Portuguese nouns#NAPALMCategory:Portuguese uncountable nouns#NAPALMCategory:Portuguese countable nouns#NAPALMCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:Portuguese masculine nouns#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. napalm (inflammable, viscous substance used in warfare)
   • 1945 September 30, Hanson Baldwin, “Prova definitiva da superioridade da produção industrial em massa”, in O Jornal, volume XXVII, number 7800, Rio de Janeiro, page x, column 2:

     Novas armas e equipamento, desenhadas e aperfeiçoadas para fazer frente ás necessidades no Pacífico, tambem tornaram possivel a consecução de muitas vitorias. Todavia, sómente algumas dessas armas podem ser mencionadas: / O torpedo gigante, dirigido á eletricidade, com detonador magnético, por acustica ou por contacto; a bomba Napalm, de gasolina gelatinosa, com detonador; […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

     Category:Portuguese terms with quotations#NAPALMCategory:Requests for translations of Portuguese quotations#NAPALM

   • 1983, Robertinho de Recife, Zé Ramalho, “Napalm” (1:05 from the start), in Orquídea Negra‎ (LP), performed by Zé Ramalho, Rio de Janeiro: Epic:

     Nesses dias que temos pela frente / A qualquer hora um napalm pode lhe acertar

     /naˈpawm/

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

     Category:Portuguese terms with quotations#NAPALMCategory:Requests for translations of Portuguese quotations#NAPALM

   • 2025 January 16, Jorge Marin, “Napalmirinha? Sem querer, influencer ensina a fazer Napalm em casa”, in TecMundo‎, São Paulo: NZN, archived from the original on 16 January 2025:

     Um vídeo publicado recentemente no TikTok como uma dica caseira está agitando as redes sociais porque, ao divulgar um método para acender fogão a lenha e tapar buraco no telhado, a tiktoker Dany Felix ensinou, sem querer, uma explosiva receita de um dos agentes incendiários mais famosos do mundo, o napalm.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

     Category:Portuguese terms with quotations#NAPALMCategory:Requests for translations of Portuguese quotations#NAPALM

Further reading

• “napalm”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “napalm”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “napalm”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “napalm”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN

Etymology

Borrowed from FrenchCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from French#NAPALMCategory:Romanian terms derived from French#NAPALM napalm.

Noun

napalm n (uncountable)Category:Romanian lemmas#NAPALMCategory:Romanian nouns#NAPALMCategory:Romanian uncountable nouns#NAPALMCategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:Romanian neuter nouns#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. napalm

Etymology

Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Serbo-Croatian terms borrowed from English#NAPALMCategory:Serbo-Croatian terms derived from English#NAPALM napalm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nǎpalm/Category:Serbo-Croatian terms with IPA pronunciation#NAPALM
• Hyphenation: na‧palm

Noun

nàpalm m inan (Cyrillic spelling на̀палм)Category:Serbo-Croatian lemmas#NAPALMCategory:Serbo-Croatian nouns#NAPALMCategory:Serbo-Croatian masculine inanimate nouns#NAPALMCategory:Serbo-Croatian entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:Serbo-Croatian masculine nouns#NAPALMCategory:Serbo-Croatian inanimate nouns#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. napalm

Etymology

Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from English#NAPALMCategory:Spanish terms derived from English#NAPALM napalm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naˈpalm/ [naˈpalm]Category:Spanish 2-syllable words#NAPALMCategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#NAPALM
• Rhymes: -almCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/alm#NAPALMCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/alm/2 syllables#NAPALM
• Syllabification: na‧palm

Noun

napalm m (uncountable)Category:Spanish lemmas#NAPALMCategory:Spanish nouns#NAPALMCategory:Spanish uncountable nouns#NAPALMCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:Spanish masculine nouns#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. napalm

Further reading

• “napalm”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Noun

napalm cCategory:Swedish lemmas#NAPALMCategory:Swedish nouns#NAPALMCategory:Swedish entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:Swedish common-gender nouns#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. napalm

References

• “napalm”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “napalm”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Etymology

From FrenchCategory:Turkish terms borrowed from French#NAPALMCategory:Turkish terms derived from French#NAPALM napalm.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: na‧palm

Noun

napalm (definite accusative napalmı, plural napalmlar)Category:Turkish lemmas#NAPALMCategory:Turkish nouns#NAPALMCategory:Turkish entries with incorrect language header#NAPALMCategory:Pages with entries#NAPALMCategory:Pages with 11 entries#NAPALM

1. (chemistryCategory:tr:Chemistry#NAPALM) napalm

References

• “napalm”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu