atomic age

American  

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.

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atomic age British  

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

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Etymology

Origin of atomic age

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 • Jul. 23, 2025

Now, it is giving way to a looming era of disorder unlike any since the beginning of the Atomic Age.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 1, 2022

While some pundits claimed the 20th century was the Atomic Age, others insisted it was the Space Age.

From Scientific American • Aug. 24, 2020

Atomic Age creature features — about mutant people, animals and insects gone wild — are escapist nostalgia trips that make up in fun what they lack in quality.

From New York Times • Apr. 2, 2020

Essentially they were those who had not adapted themselves to what had once been called the Atomic Age, in the days when atoms were a novelty.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov