Meanings
plural fork bombs · alternative forkbomb
- computingA program that creates a large number of self-replicating tasks or processes in a computer system in order to cause a denial of service.
In contrast to the wabbit's slow growth, a fork bomb quickly generates multiple copies itself.
2002, Philip E. N. Howard, “Hacktivism”, in Steve Jones, editor, Encyclopedia of New Media, SAGE Publications, →ISBN, page 2161 more example
By using the limits described in this chapter, you can mitigate the risk of a fork bomb by restricting the maximum number of processes that a single user can invoke. While the fork bomb can still cause your system to become highly loaded, […]
2020, Wale Soyinka, Linux Administration: A Beginner’s Guide, Eighth Edition, McGraw Hill Professional, →ISBN, page 331
Origin
From fork (“splitting-up of an existing process”) + bomb.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin fork炸彈 /fork炸弹
- fork炸彈 /fork炸弹 (fork zhàdàn)Program to produce a denial of service with forks
French fork bomb
- fork bombProgram to produce a denial of service with forks
Cite this entry
fork bomb. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fork%20bomb
“fork bomb.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fork%20bomb. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fork bomb,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fork%20bomb.
Source: fork bomb on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.