a complex carbohydrate found chiefly in seeds, fruits, tubers, roots and stem pith of plants, notably in corn, potatoes, wheat, and rice; an important foodstuff and used otherwise especially in adhesives and as fillers and stiffeners for paper and textiles
a bomb that has a detonating mechanism that can be set to go off at a particular time
a problematic situation that will eventually become dangerous if not addressed; "India is a demographic time bomb"; "the refugee camp is a ticking bomb waiting to go off"