thermobaric

English

Etymology

From thermo- +‎ baric, derived from the Ancient Greek words for “heat” and “pressure”: θερμοβαρικός (thermobarikós), from θερμός (thermós, hot) + βάρος (báros, weight, pressure) + -ικός (-ikós, -ic).

Adjective

thermobaric (not comparable)

  1. Describing various weapons that use atmospheric oxygen to produce a blast wave of a significantly longer duration than those produced by condensed explosives.
    • 2022 March 1, Virginia Harrison, “What are thermobaric weapons and how do they work?”, in The Guardian[1]:
      Fears have risen over the use of thermobaric weapons by Russia after the Ukrainian ambassador to the US said a vacuum bomb – another term for the weapon – had been used during the invasion.

Derived terms

  • thermobaricity

Translations

See also

Noun

thermobaric (plural thermobarics)

  1. A thermobaric weapon