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.

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

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

I crept to my one window and pulled aside the curtain, expecting to see a mushroom cloud rising over the Los Angeles basin.

From New York Times • Feb. 12, 2024

She is posing exuberantly, her arms up-flung, with a cloud of blonde hair and, affixed to her swimsuit, a cottony, torso-sized mushroom cloud.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2023

A mushroom cloud of black smoke billows into the sky.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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