Hiroshima

American  

[heer-oh-shee-muh, hi-roh-shuh-muh, hee-raw-shee-mah] / ˌhɪər oʊˈʃi mə, hɪˈroʊ ʃə mə, ˈhi rɔˈʃi mɑ /

noun

1. a seaport on SW Honshu, in SW Japan: first military use of atomic bomb August 6, 1945.

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Hiroshima British  

/ hɪˈrɒʃɪmə, ˌhɪrɒˈʃiːmə /

noun

1. a port in SW Japan, on SW Honshu on the delta of the Ota River: largely destroyed on August 6, 1945, by the first atomic bomb to be used in warfare, dropped by the US, which killed over 75 000 of its inhabitants. Pop: 1 113 786 (2002 est)

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Hiroshima ¹ Cultural  

1. A Japanese city on which the United States dropped the first atomic bomb (see also atomic bomb) used in warfare, on August 6, 1945. After the devastation of the bombing, Hiroshima was largely rebuilt.

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Hiroshima ² Cultural  

1. City on the southwest coast of Honshu Island, Japan; a commercial and industrial center.

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Discover More

On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was almost completely destroyed by the first atomic bomb (see also atomic bomb) ever dropped on a populated area. Followed by the bombing of Nagasaki, on August 9, this show of Allied strength hastened the surrender of Japan in World War II.

Many survivors of these bombings have suffered from a variety of diseases caused by radiation, such as leukemia.

Example Sentences

The Kyoto University and Hiroshima University team now plans to extend its method to larger and more general multi photon entangled states.

From Science Daily • May 13, 2026

Artifacts from the birth of the nuclear age are also featured, including items recovered from postwar Hiroshima and a letter from the father of the nuclear bomb, Robert J. Oppenheimer.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

"They dropped a bomb at Hiroshima and it was all called off," he said on the 75th anniversary of VJ day in 2020.

From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026

Projects with government backing include Rapidus’s chip-production project in Hokkaido, U.S. memory maker Micron Technology’s facilities in Hiroshima and TSMC’s Kumamoto factory.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

Since Hiroshima, there had been more than 190 atomic and thermonuclear tests in the atmosphere, underground, and at sea.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik