H-bomb

noun

ˈāch-ˌbäm How to pronounce H-bomb (audio)
: hydrogen bomb

Examples of H-bomb in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And this is the H-bomb, uh, several magnitudes more powerful than the atomic bomb. — Quartz Staff, Quartz, 3 Mar. 2023 If dragons are nukes, Vhagar is an H-bomb while everyone else still has lesser A-bombs. — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 20 June 2026 The specter of trauma has long hung over Godzilla, a creature unearthed from slumber by H-bomb testing in the 1954 original. — Esther Zuckerman, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2024 By using fusion to power a thermonuclear reaction, H-bomb explosions can be massively more powerful than fission reactions, like that in Gadget. — Kelsey Atherton, Vulture, 26 July 2023 If neither the publication of H-bomb secrets nor the release of the Pentagon Papers irreparably harmed national security, then what secrets gone feral will? — Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2014 Attempts to find work elsewhere were blocked at every turn, despite support from multiple Nobel laureates, Groves and even H-bomb enthusiast Edward Teller. — Kc Cole, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of H-bomb was in 1950

Rhymes for H-bomb

See All Rhymes for H-bomb

Browse Nearby Words

HBM
H-bomb
H bone
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“H-bomb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/H-bomb. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

H-bomb

noun
ˈāch-ˌbäm
: hydrogen bomb

More from Merriam-Webster on H-bomb

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about H-bomb

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All