Showing results for nuclear option. Search instead for pickers' options.

nuclear option

British

noun

the use of or power to use nuclear weapons
the use of or power to use a measure considered to be particularly drastic

the nuclear option of a confidence vote

"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

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.

There’s also the nuclear option: Ditch the cloud and back up your data to a local drive.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

“This weapon is kind of the nuclear option because its consequences are so severe,” he says.

From Barron's • Oct. 11, 2025

Another option in the EU's armoury, described as its nuclear option or trade "bazooka", is to impose restrictions on America's powerful service sector as well as intellectual property rights.

From BBC • Jul. 24, 2025

There’s the nuclear option: the singles table in the restaurant.

From Salon • Jul. 4, 2025

Asked in a radio interview about a hypothetical nuclear option, Eliyahu replied: "That's one way."

From Reuters • Nov. 5, 2023

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