mushroom cloud

American  

noun

1. mushroom.

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mushroom cloud British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of mushroom cloud

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

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

From The Wall Street Journal

But Wright, whose agency oversees testing, said people living in the Nevada desert should have "no worries" about seeing a mushroom cloud.

From BBC

Years later, it still felt awkward dancing away to “Enola Gay,” and even more so after the group flashed images of the notorious aircraft and a mushroom cloud on screens.

From Los Angeles Times

When John Folkes was 19 years old, he was on board a plane ordered to fly through four atomic bomb mushroom clouds.

From BBC

Federal investigators later concluded that the open burn and the black mushroom cloud it produced were unnecessary, but it was too late.

From Salon