atomic bomb
nounUK /əˈtɒmɪk bɒm/ · US /əˈtɑmɪk bɑm/
Etymology Coined by British science fiction author H. G. Wells in his 1914 novel The World Set Free.
1
Government, Military, Politics, War A nuclear weapon that obtains its destructive energy from nuclear fission.
- In their present form these bombs are now in production and even more powerful forms are in development. It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East.1945 August 6, Harry S. Truman, “Statement by the President Announcing the Use of the A-Bomb at Hiroshima”, in UVA Miller Center Presidential Speeches, University of Virginia Miller Center:
2
Colloquial, With the The possession of one or more atomic bombs; the ability to launch a nuclear attack.
- Nine different countries have the atomic bomb as of 2022.
- Related terms
- nucleomitophobia
- Hypernyms
- nuclear weapon, nuke, superbomb, weapon of mass destruction, WMD
- Coordinate terms
- hydrogen bomb, H-bomb, neutron bomb