depth charge

English

Noun

depth charge (plural depth charges)

1. (military, nautical, aviation) A form of bomb, launched from a ship or dropped from an aircraft, that is designed to detonate at a certain depth underwater for the purposes of attacking a submerged enemy, especially a submarine.

   Synonyms: depth bomb, (slang) ashcan

   • 2014 October 25, Jeff Gordinier, “In search of the perfect taco”, in T: The New York Times Style Magazine (international edition)‎^[1], archived from the original on 23 July 2025, page 100:

     The trailblazing Oaxacan chef Alejandro Ruiz […] has spiked this black-bean sauce with a hidden depth charge of flavor: patches of foliage from a local avocado tree. The leaves electrify the sauce with an unexpected thrum of black licorice.

2. Synonym of bomb shot (“type of mixed drink”).

Translations

bomb designed to detonate at a certain depth underwater

• Belarusian: глыбі́нная бо́мба f (hlybínnaja bómba)
• Catalan: càrrega de profunditat f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 深水炸彈 / 深水炸弹 (shēnshuǐ zhàdàn)

• Dutch: dieptebom (nl) f, waterbom f
• Finnish: syvyyspommi (fi)
• German: Wasserbombe (de) f
• Irish: lánán doimhneachta m
• Japanese: 爆雷 (ja) (bakurai)
• Korean: 폭뢰(爆雷) (ko) (pongnoe)
• Polish: bomba głębinowa f
• Portuguese: carga de profundidade f, bomba de profundidade f
• Russian: глуби́нная бо́мба (ru) f (glubínnaja bómba)
• Serbo-Croatian: дубинска бомба f
• Swedish: sjunkbomb (sv) c
• Ukrainian: глиби́нна бо́мба f (hlybýnna bómba)

Verb

depth charge (third-person singular simple present depth charges, present participle depth charging, simple past and past participle depth charged)

1. (transitive, military, nautical, aviation) To attack (a target, usually a submarine) with depth charges.

   After the freighter was torpedoed, its escorting destroyers depth charged the submarine for two hours, but failed to sink it.

Alternative forms

• depth-charge