first strike
noun
the initial use of nuclear weapons in a conflict, in which the attacker tries to destroy the adversary's strategic nuclear forces.
QUIZZES
HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!
Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
Origin of first strike
First recorded in 1960–65
Words nearby first strike
first run, first school, first secretary, first sergeant, first state, first strike, first string, first thing, first things first, first water, first world
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for first-strike
The U.S. had achieved the first-strike capability it had long been seeking.
Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick On How Obama Should Handle the Crisis In Syria|Oliver Stone, Peter Kuznick|October 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
British Dictionary definitions for first-strike
first-strike
adjective
(of a nuclear missile) intended for use in an opening attack calculated to destroy the enemy's nuclear weapons
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012