To release internal or external memory areas from the control of a computer program in the course of dynamic storage allocation, making these areas available for reallocation to other programs.

The setting off of a heavy explosive charge.

1. The brief and rapid movement of air or other fluid away from a center of outward pressure, as in an explosion.

2. The characteristic instantaneous rise in pressure, followed by a sudden decrease, that results from this movement, differentiated from less rapid pressure changes.