mushroom cloud

American

noun

mushroom.

mushroom cloud British

noun

the large mushroom-shaped cloud of dust, debris, etc produced by a nuclear explosion

"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

Etymology

Origin of mushroom cloud

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

mushroom cloud

Footage shows the towering rocket erupt in an inferno, followed by a mushroom cloud of smoke as bystanders gathered to watch the launch gasp "Oh no!" and "Oh my God!"

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

Harry Truman’s legacy froze the moment the mushroom cloud rose over Hiroshima.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026

And just as nuclear blasts produce a distinctive mushroom cloud, uncontrolled wildfires can be powerful enough to generate their own weather.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2024

Some images showed Margot Robbie with a mushroom cloud hairstyle.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2023

The cometary impact and fireball would simulate all effects of a one- megaton nuclear burst, including the mushroom cloud, with two exceptions: there would be no gamma radiation or radioactive fallout.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023