How to Use detonator in a Sentence

detonator

noun
Definition of detonatornext
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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 thermal detonators appear throughout the films, often in the hands of a bounty hunter.
    — Gabrielle Russon, orlandosentinel.com, 28 Aug. 2019
  • 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
  • Where did Leia get the idea to threaten Jabba with a thermal detonator?
    — Dan Gvozden, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 June 2018
  • Deminers spotted a thin wire connected to a stick on one side and a detonator on the other.
    — Washington Post, 29 May 2021
  • Out in the backyard, there’s a creepy-looking mine from the First World War, about a foot in diameter and prickly all over with detonators.
    — Joshua Levine, Smithsonian, 19 Apr. 2018
  • Two hand grenades and two detonators were found on the bus, police and prosecutors said.
    — Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2017
  • In the final scene of the episode, Offred wields a pen in her hand, pressing her thumb down upon it much as Ofglen used a detonator to cause so much damage.
    — Josh Wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 May 2018
  • Throughout the rest of the land, the main walkways were open, although lines formed to buy a $6 Coca-Cola shaped like a thermal detonator and at the more expensive shops.
    — Dewayne Bevil, orlandosentinel.com, 28 Aug. 2019
  • Terrorists could even rig up a wireless detonator that could be triggered from the ground.
    — Erik Baard, WIRED, 13 Nov. 2001
  • 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
  • One of the pair removes his jacket, revealing a detonator on his back.
    — Toyin Owoseje, CNN, 22 Feb. 2021
  • Straight from the most recent season of the show, the Pirate Snub Fighter comes with stud shooters, a compartment for a thermal detonator, and two brand-new figurines.
    — Tom Price, Popular Mechanics, 4 May 2023
  • The last Boba had seen of Valance, the cyborg bounty hunter had been facing down the wrong end of a thermal detonator, his purpose served in helping Boba get to Solo faster.
    — Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 22 Aug. 2023
  • The paper also released images of what may have been the detonator, and of metal fragments, including nuts and a screw, that had been packed around the explosive.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 25 May 2017
  • 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 Navy’s theory was that the man rigged a detonator and stuck it between bags of explosive propellant powder.
    — Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 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
  • The office said investigators who detained the couple and searched their car found more than a pound of TATP explosives and a detonator.
    — NBC News, 2 July 2018
  • Upstairs, New York’s gourmet elite is enjoying a lavish banquet, unaware that Beard is in the basement, about to push the plunger detonator and obliterate them all.
    — Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2020
  • The suspect had purchased tactical equipment, wiring, chemicals and devices often used as remote detonators.
    — Cbs News Philadelphia Staff, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2023

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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