atomic age

noun

1. the period in history initiated by the first use of the atomic bomb and characterized by atomic energy as a military, political, and industrial factor.

atomic age

noun

1. the current historical period, initiated by the development of the first atomic bomb towards the end of World War II and now marked by a balance of power between nations possessing the hydrogen bomb and the use of nuclear power as a source of energy

Word History and Origins

Origin of atomic age¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Set on Earth 828, an alternate universe that borrows our own Atomic Age decor, it doesn’t just look old, it moves old.

From Los Angeles Times

The current crisis coincides with the 80th anniversary of the Trinity Test, the first detonation of an atomic weapon that would soon obliterate the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and so inaugurate the atomic age.

From Salon

In popular culture and historical scholarship, his legacy is often framed as that of a tragic figure: The reluctant architect of the atomic age, an idealist drawn into the ethically fraught task of creating a weapon of mass destruction compelled by the perceived exigencies of an existential war.

From Salon

These titles informed by the horrors of the Atomic Age featured recognizable American landmarks going up in smoke.

From Salon

“Oppenheimer” was the epic, deadly earnest biopic of the reluctant father of the atomic age.

From Los Angeles Times