Definition
Substances capable of rapid chemical reaction that produces heat, light, sound, gas, or pressure and can cause physical destruction. In law, the term operates across multiple bodies of doctrine — criminal law, tort law, regulatory law, and insurance law — with its precise scope defined by context.
In criminal and regulatory law, "explosives" typically refers to any substance manufactured or used to produce an explosive effect, including dynamite, blasting powder, nitro-glycerine, gunpowder, and a range of commercial and military compounds. Federal and state statutes define the term specifically for licensing, transportation, and possession purposes, and those statutory definitions control within their respective schemes.
In insurance law, "explosives" functions as a category of excluded or specially regulated materials under policy terms. Bouvier's identifies benzine, benzole, dynamite, ether, fireworks, gasoline, Greek fire, gunpowder, naphtha, and nitro-glycerine as substances a fire insurance company treats as explosives. Blasting powder has been held to fall within the phrase "other explosives" as a recognized extension of the category.
In tort law, explosives are the paradigm case for strict liability under the abnormally dangerous activities doctrine. The handling, storage, and use of explosives — particularly blasting operations — is the foundational example courts cite when applying strict liability without regard to fault.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): Plural of "explosive"; substances that explode or can cause an explosion.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Agents or substances that explode or produce sudden violent expansion, typically through rapid combustion or chemical decomposition.
The common meaning and legal meaning largely overlap in identifying the class of substances involved. The gap is one of precision and consequence: in ordinary speech, "explosives" is descriptive; in law, it is determinative. Whether a substance qualifies as an "explosive" under a statute, an insurance policy, or a tort standard can determine criminal liability, coverage obligations, or the applicable standard of care. Courts and insurers do not use a general dictionary sense — they apply the definition operative in the relevant legal instrument or doctrine.
Common Confusion
Researchers sometimes conflate regulatory definitions of "explosives" with the common law tort meaning. A substance may be classified as an explosive under a federal licensing statute (such as those administered by the ATF under the federal explosives laws) without that classification automatically resolving whether strict liability attaches in tort. Conversely, courts applying the abnormally dangerous activities doctrine may treat a substance or activity as explosive in the strict liability sense without it falling within a specific statutory definition. The applicable definition is always context-specific.
Why It Matters in Research
The term "explosives" does not carry a single fixed legal meaning across the corpus. Researchers must identify which body of law is at issue before treating any definition as controlling.
In historical sources, insurance law drove much of the definitional work. Bouvier's framing reflects late nineteenth and early twentieth century fire insurance disputes, where the question was whether a stored substance triggered an exclusion or a higher-risk classification. That context shaped which substances were enumerated and how courts extended the list. Modern regulatory law has largely displaced this piecemeal judicial definition-building with statutory schedules, but the insurance law lineage remains relevant for historical policy interpretation.
The tort law dimension is the most litigation-dense area of the corpus. Because blasting and explosives handling is the textbook case for strict liability, research into abnormally dangerous activities almost always passes through explosives doctrine. The Restatement (Second) of Torts and the Restatement (Third) of Torts both use blasting as a primary illustration.
Jurisdictional variation in criminal and regulatory treatment is significant. State explosive control statutes vary in their enumerated substances and licensing schemes. Federal law (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives jurisdiction) sets a floor, but state definitions may be broader or narrower for state criminal purposes.
Be alert to the treatment of incendiary devices and accelerants. Some sources and statutes treat certain incendiary substances as explosives; others distinguish them. The boundary matters for criminal charging, insurance coverage disputes, and tort claims.
Historical Dictionary Support
Bouvier's provides a functionally useful but narrow treatment, organized around the insurance law context. Its enumerated list — benzine, benzole, dynamite, ether, fireworks, gasoline, Greek fire, gunpowder, naphtha, nitro-glycerine — reflects the categories litigated in early federal cases and is not a comprehensive definition but rather a collection of adjudicated examples. The inclusion of blasting powder within "other explosives" signals that courts treated the enumerated list as illustrative rather than exhaustive.
Bouvier's does not address the tort law dimension of explosives doctrine, the criminal law definition, or the regulatory framework that would develop through the twentieth century. For any research question arising after the early regulatory period, Bouvier's is a starting point for historical baseline only.
Jurisdictional Note
Federal law under 18 U.S.C. Chapter 40 governs licensing, manufacture, distribution, and storage of explosives and includes a statutory definition that controls in federal criminal prosecutions. State criminal codes and hazardous materials regulations define "explosives" independently for state purposes, and those definitions vary. Insurance policy language is interpreted under state contract law, and courts in different jurisdictions have reached differing conclusions about borderline substances.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Strict Liability and Abnormally Dangerous Activities — Blasting and Explosives (The Law Mind Torts & Personal Injury Encyclopedia).