preemptive strike


nounMilitary.
  1. an attack against an enemy in response to an obvious threat of attack by that enemy: because preemptive strikes are prompted more by clearly imminent danger than by speculation, they generally are considered acceptable in international law.

Origin of preemptive strike

1
First recorded in 1955–60

Words Nearby preemptive strike

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How to use preemptive strike in a sentence

Cultural definitions for preemptive strike

preemptive strike

A first-strike attack with nuclear weapons carried out to destroy an enemy's capacity to respond. A preemptive strike is based on the assumption that the enemy is planning an imminent attack.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.