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 1945 bombing of Nagasaki, and Hiroshima before it, brought an end to Imperial Japan’s brutal march across Asia and turned generations of Japanese against the militarism that led their country to ruin.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 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

So, we talked about that, and then we talked about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

From Salon • Feb. 25, 2026

Hughes pointed to the impact of the United States' 15-megaton Bravo test at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands on March 1, 1954 -- "equivalent to 1,000 Hiroshima bombs -- an absolute monstrosity".

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

Despite Lawrences own initial doubts, it would produce the fuel for the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik