doomsday

American  

[doomz-dey] / ˈdumzˌdeɪ /

noun

1. Theology. the day of the Last Judgment, at the end of the world.

2. any day of judgment or sentence.

3. nuclear destruction of the world.

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adjective

1. given to or marked by forebodings or predictions of impending calamity; especially concerned with or predicting future universal destruction.

   the doomsday issue of all-out nuclear war.

2. capable of causing widespread or total destruction.

   doomsday weapons.

doomsday British  

/ ˈduːmzˌdeɪ /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) the day on which the Last Judgment will occur

2. any day of reckoning

3. (modifier) characterized by predictions of disaster

   doomsday scenario

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Etymology

Origin of doomsday

First recorded before 1000; Middle English domes dai, Old English dōmesdæg “Judgment Day”; equivalent to doom ( def. ) + 's ¹ ( def. ) + day ( def. )

Explanation

In many religions, doomsday is the end of the world and the moment of final judgment. In your everyday life, doomsday might be the date of the final exam in your math class. Doomsday means utter catastrophe, in both religious and secular contexts. Many faiths believe in a literal doomsday, when life as we know it will come to an end. For centuries people have attempted to predict when this will occur, with the most recent guesses including 2011, 2012, and 2021. Generally, a doomsday scenario is any event that could cause human extinction, like catastrophic climate change or an asteroid impact. The Germanic root of doomsday means "judgment day."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

doomsday

“There’s one person who can stop this doomsday scenario, and that is my friend Chad Bianco,” Hilton said in an Instagram video Friday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

For all the doomsday predictions that AI will make management consultants obsolete, Boston Consulting Group CEO Christoph Schweizer has this retort: Look at the business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

UK political turmoil is not receiving much attention in Russian media, but "Starmer's doomsday" is a headline on Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

From BBC ● May 12, 2026

Also read: The ‘smart money’ fled software stocks after Citrini’s viral AI doomsday report.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 13, 2026

You probably expected a thousand words on gravity or the four laws of thermodynamics, not a journal recounting the last 144 days of my life—possibly of all life—interspersed with crazy doomsday scenarios.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson