noun
Molotov
MO-luh-tov
noun
1
Short for Molotov cocktail — a crude homemade bomb made from a bottle filled with flammable liquid and lit with a rag fuse.
"Protesters hurled molotovs at the barricade."
"The rioters had crates of molotovs stacked behind the wall."
verb
1
To attack someone or something by throwing a Molotov cocktail.
"The building was molotoved during the unrest."
How to Use Molotov
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA homemade firebomb, or the act of throwing one.
Common mistake
Always lowercase and informal when used as a verb or short noun; "Molotov cocktail" is the fuller, more formal term.
Word Forms
Molotoved past tense, Molotovs plural, Molotovs singular
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Etymology
Named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov — the Finns coined the term mockingly during the 1939-40 Winter War.