A class of explosives made from nitroglycerine in an absorbent medium such as kieselguhr, used in mining and blasting; invented by Alfred Nobel in 1867
It is safer than nitroglycerin, being less liable to explosion from moderate shocks, or from spontaneous decomposition
An explosive substance consisting of nitroglycerin absorbed by some inert, porous solid, as infusorial earth, sawdust, etc
an explosive containing nitrate sensitized with nitroglycerin absorbed on wood pulp blow up with dynamite; "The rock was dynamited
approval If you describe someone or something as dynamite, you think that they are exciting. The first kiss is dynamite. to damage or destroy something with dynamite. Blasting explosive, patented in 1867 by Alfred P. Nobel. Dynamite is based on nitroglycerin but is much safer to handle than nitroglycerin alone. By mixing the nitroglycerin with kieselguhr, a porous silica-containing earth, in proportions that left an essentially dry and granular material, Nobel produced a solid that was resistant to shock but readily explodable by heat or sudden impact. Later, wood pulp was substituted as the absorbent, and sodium nitrate was added as an oxidizing agent to increase the strength of the explosive