detonator
/ˈdɛt.ə.neɪ.tə(ɹ)/noun
detonator is spelled D-E-T-O-N-A-T-O-R: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, detonator means “A device used to detonate an explosive device etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of detonator is detonators.
How many letters and syllables are in detonator?
| Letters | 9: D-E-T-O-N-A-T-O-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,633rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is detonator?
Detonator appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce detonator?
- UK /ˈdɛt.ə.neɪ.tə(ɹ)/
- UK /ˈdɛtn̩eɪ.tə(ɹ)/
Detonator has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-detonator.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of detonator
- detonators plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does detonator mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A device used to detonate an explosive device etc.
- 2
UKA small explosive device attached to the railhead to provide an audible warning when a train passes over it.
- 3
archaicAny explosive whose action is practically instantaneous.
- 4
obsoleteA gun fired by a percussion cap.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Detonator in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense device used to detonate an explosive device:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | détonateur, capsule fulminante |
| German | Zünder |
| Portuguese | detonador |
| Spanish | detonador, detonante |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does detonator come from?
From detonate + -or.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).