firebomb

English

Etymology

From fire +‎ bomb.

Noun

firebomb (plural firebombs)

1. A weapon that causes fire; an incendiary weapon.

   A Molotov cocktail is a simple firebomb.

   • 2005, Jennifer Worth, Shadows of the Workhouse, Weidenfeld & Nicholson (2009), page 269:

     The firebombs were small, and burst into flames when they hit the ground.

Translations

weapon

• Finnish: palopommi (fi)
• German: Brandbombe (de) f
• Mongolian: шатаах бөмбөг (šataax bömbög)
• Russian: зажига́тельная бо́мба f (zažigátelʹnaja bómba)
• Swedish: brandbomb (sv) c
• Turkish: yangın bombası (tr)

Verb

firebomb (third-person singular simple present firebombs, present participle firebombing, simple past and past participle firebombed)

1. (transitive) To attack with a firebomb.

   The rioters firebombed the parked car.

   • 2023, Colson Whitehead, Crook Manifesto, Fleet, page 100:

     The next week when they firebombed the Satin Room, one of Chink Montagueʼs after-hours joints, Carney assumed the mobsters were embroiled in another war.