Armageddon
Americannoun
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(in the Bible) the place where a final battle will be fought between the forces of good and evil: probably so called in reference to the battlefield of Megiddo.
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the last and completely destructive battle.
The arms race can lead to Armageddon.
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any great and crucial conflict.
noun
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New Testament the final battle at the end of the world between the forces of good and evil, God against the kings of the earth (Revelation 16:16)
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a catastrophic and extremely destructive conflict, esp World War I viewed as this
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Figuratively, “Armageddon” is any great battle or destructive confrontation.
Etymology
Origin of Armageddon
First recorded in 1580–90; Middle English Hermagedon, Old English Ermagedon, from Late Latin Hermagedōn, Armagedōn, from Greek Harmagedṓn, from Hebrew har măgiddō (măgiddōn) “mountain of Megiddo”; see Megiddo ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Shortly after midnight Friday, as Marc B. was leaving the courthouse in a police van, he shouted "Portugal Armageddon" toward journalists gathered outside.
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
The incident, in reality, is pedestrian—Henry could easily roll the dice again if he wanted to—but it is Armageddon in the UBA, leading to a crisis in both Henry’s life and the world he created.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
And one resident likened the outage in January - which SEW blamed on Storm Goretti and power cuts - to "Armageddon".
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
Based on the state of the tariff world at that time, it looked like trade Armageddon had started.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 8, 2026
“I still think a ballet would be perfect, you know, while Armageddon is going on.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
