How to Use detonator in a Sentence

detonator

noun
  • He was taught to make explosives, wrap them in a vest and hook them to a detonator.
    — Washington Post, 12 Nov. 2021
  • Greef gets the last before the trooper can set off his detonator.
    — Lauren Morgan, EW.com, 20 Nov. 2020
  • When this occurs, the detonator in the rear of the bomb becomes live and is set off by impact.
    — David Hambling, Forbes, 8 Nov. 2021
  • The team that gets to the third detonator first drops all the remaining teams and wins the entire thing.
    — Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 2 Sep. 2021
  • Terrorists could even rig up a wireless detonator that could be triggered from the ground.
    — Erik Baard, WIRED, 13 Nov. 2001
  • Two hand grenades and two detonators were found on the bus, police and prosecutors said.
    — Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2017
  • One of the pair removes his jacket, revealing a detonator on his back.
    — Toyin Owoseje, CNN, 22 Feb. 2021
  • Deminers spotted a thin wire connected to a stick on one side and a detonator on the other.
    — Washington Post, 29 May 2021
  • The fishing line was taped both to the inside of the wheel and to a detonator, rigging the bomb to explode when the wheel turned.
    — Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2022
  • The man speaking to him appears on the screen clad in a similar vest and holding a detonator.
    — Malcom Forbes Special To The Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 16 July 2021
  • When the time was right, Motele hit the detonator, ran out of the building and the bomb exploded.
    — Liz Rothaus Bertrand, Charlotte Observer, 27 Jan. 2026
  • If a passing ship drifts too close to the mines with its metal hull, the altered magnetic field would set off the detonator.
    — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, 9 Nov. 2018
  • The other man honed a kitchen knife against a stone, sliced off an inchlong fuse, wrapped it in a piece of aluminum and strapped on a match as a detonator.
    — Aurora Almendral, New York Times, 15 June 2018
  • The thermal detonators appear throughout the films, often in the hands of a bounty hunter.
    — Gabrielle Russon, orlandosentinel.com, 28 Aug. 2019
  • At the scene, the bomb squad removed the phone—which was designed to be used as either timer or detonator—from the pressure cooker.
    — Mark Warren, Popular Mechanics, 23 Mar. 2017
  • Detonators need to be unscrewed and, ever so gently, lifted clear.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2017
  • Where did Leia get the idea to threaten Jabba with a thermal detonator?
    — Dan Gvozden, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 June 2018
  • When Chub triggered a detonator lodged in one of the mines, an enormous cloud of flame roiled up from the now impassable bridge.
    — Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
  • Dinner didn’t blow up in their faces because the claylike substance only explodes when set off by a detonator.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 6 Dec. 2019
  • Mines are equipped with pressure plates that, when triggered by footsteps, wheels, or tank tracks, activate a detonator.
    — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 9 Apr. 2021
  • The city of Limburg said the bomb probably had a chemical detonator that failed when the bomb was dropped.
    — Alex Horton, Washington Post, 25 June 2019
  • The detonator is Morgan, who had been hiding upstairs for the earlier part of the play.
    — Adam Moss, Vulture, 30 May 2025
  • Weapons, explosives, detonators, work tools, helmets, lighters, matches, smoke bombs, spray cans.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 14 June 2026
  • Weapons, explosives, detonators, work tools, helmets, lighters, matches, smoke bombs, spray cans.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 20 June 2026
  • Weapons, explosives, detonators, work tools, helmets, lighters, matches, smoke bombs, spray cans.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 18 June 2026
  • The church, too, was demolished, the priest tasked with activating the detonator.
    — Sebastián López Brach, The Dial, 25 Feb. 2025
  • Inside each case is a detonator that can be used to deactivate any team of their choosing, dropping them into the water.
    — Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 2 Sep. 2021
  • One by one, Mando fends them off, eventually grabbing a primed detonator and tossing it back in their faces.
    — Alex Kane, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2020
  • Flying from the beast’s mouth, Mando pulls the trigger on his detonator, and the krayt dragon collapses.
    — Alex Kane, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2020
  • Hiraldo-Ramires demonstrated how to install and arm the detonator, using a model of a mine.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 26 Dec. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'detonator.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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