Manhattan Project

American  

noun

1. U.S. History. the unofficial designation for the U.S. War Department's secret program, organized in 1942, to explore the isolation of radioactive isotopes and the production of an atomic bomb: initial research was conducted at Columbia University in Manhattan.

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Manhattan Project British  

noun

1. (during World War II) the code name for the secret US project set up in 1942 to develop an atomic bomb

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Manhattan Project Cultural  

1. The code name for the effort to develop atomic bombs (see also atomic bomb) for the United States during World War II. The first controlled nuclear reaction took place in Chicago in 1942, and by 1945, bombs had been manufactured that used this chain reaction to produce great explosive force. The project was carried out in enormous secrecy. After a test explosion in July 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (see also Hiroshima) and Nagasaki.

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Etymology

Origin of Manhattan Project

Extracted from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Manhattan District and DSM (Development of Substitute Materials) Project

Example Sentences

We’ve had plagues and climate change before, to some degree, but until the Manhattan Project, humans weren’t really in control of that kind of existential, destructive power.

From Salon • Jun. 15, 2026

In the wake of the Manhattan Project that birthed the atomic era — and with it, the ever-present threat of nuclear war — people acted immediately to bring attention to this new threat.

From Salon • Jun. 15, 2026

The pages capture the inner thoughts of someone who found himself at the center of history, as if Oppenheimer grabbed a pen and bared his soul during the Manhattan Project.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026

He compares the initiative to the Manhattan Project.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

He described as much as he knew about the organization of the Manhattan Project, saying he’d heard that the bomb design was happening at a secret site somewhere in New Mexico.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin