detonate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Because of their small size, the rats are not heavy enough to detonate mines, making them a safer option than humans.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

If “One of Us” is an entertaining family saga of privilege and comeuppance, it is also a consummate novel of suspense in which revelations detonate with lethal accuracy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

Commander Fox explains that mines generally fall into two categories: contact mines, which detonate when struck, and influence mines, which explode when sensors detect changes in sound, pressure or magnetism.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026

I regularly did more research on what type of mascara to buy than I did any online probing about this man for whom I was about to detonate my life.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2025

After lowering a torpedo filled with nitroglycerin into the belly of the earth, the muddied workers would detonate it, occasionally turning up a fragment of an ancient American Indian spear or an arrowhead.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann