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

When Baerwald read that, “I was really alarmed, in the moment,” he says, realizing how closely tied his grandfather had been to the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

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

Recently, survivors of the Hiroshima atomic bomb pressed for the abolition of nuclear arms at the United Nations, calling to build a human society free from nuclear weapons and war.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

The United States is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in combat, obliterating the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, killing some 214,000 people.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Forced to concede that an atomic bomb had destroyed Hiroshima, the German scientists began trying to figure how the bomb had been made.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin