mushroom cloud
Americannoun
noun
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.
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
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 • May 19, 2025
Federal investigators later concluded that the open burn and the black mushroom cloud it produced were unnecessary, but it was too late.
From Salon • Oct. 5, 2024
He accidentally knocked a tray of chemicals off the counter and made an Orange mushroom cloud in the trash can.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
