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.

Origin of first strike

First recorded in 1960–65

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for first-strike

Contemporary Examples of 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

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