explotar
verbCEFR B2
What does “explotar” mean in English?
to explode, to blow up
to explode, to blow up (figurative/intransitive; scandals, crises, bubbles erupting suddenly — journalism register)
Example sentences
El escándalo de corrupción explotó a pocos días de las elecciones y cambió el resultado de manera drástica.
The corruption scandal exploded just days before the elections and dramatically changed the outcome.
La burbuja inmobiliaria explotó en 2008 y dejó a millones de familias atrapadas en hipotecas impagables.
The property bubble burst in 2008, leaving millions of families trapped in unaffordable mortgages.
Si no se abordan las causas profundas, el conflicto latente podría explotar en cualquier momento.
If the root causes are not addressed, the latent conflict could explode at any moment.
How to use it
Explotar (in the figurative sense) means 'to explode' or 'to blow up' — a crisis, scandal, or conflict erupting suddenly. It is intransitive in this sense: el escándalo explotó, el conflicto explotó. Don't confuse with the other core sense of explotar: 'to exploit / make use of' (aprovechar al máximo). Context is essential. At B2, both senses are expected. The figurative explosion sense is most common in journalism and political commentary. The noun for the explosion sense is la explosión (media). The noun for exploitation is la explotación.
Common mistake
Explotar is polysemous: (1) to explode/burst (intransitive figurative) — el escándalo explotó; (2) to exploit/use (transitive) — explotar los recursos. Don't conflate these. In context (1), estallar (to break out/erupt) is often interchangeable: el conflicto estalló / explotó. In context (2), aprovechar is the safer B2 synonym.