nuclear winter

American  

[noo-klee-er win-ter, nyoo-] / ˈnu kli ər ˈwɪn tər, ˈnyu- /

noun

1. the general devastation of life, along with worldwide darkness and extreme cold, that some scientists believe would result from a global dust cloud screening out sunlight following large-scale nuclear detonations.

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nuclear winter British  

noun

1. a period of extremely low temperatures and little light that, it has been suggested, would occur as a result of a nuclear war

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nuclear winter Cultural  

1. A theory first put forward in 1983 predicting that a large-scale nuclear exchange would produce enough smoke and soot to lower the temperature of the Earth significantly. Subsequent calculations indicated that the climatic effects would be much less than had originally been claimed, leading to the use of the term nuclear autumn to describe the phenomenon.

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Pronunciation

See nuclear ( def. ).

Etymology

Origin of nuclear winter

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

In the 1970s, we were warned about a new ice age and in the 1980s of a nuclear winter.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025

In the height of the cold war, we were focused on nuclear winter.

From Scientific American • Sep. 26, 2023

The final parts of the film follow the characters as they struggle through the nuclear winter in the aftermath of the blasts.

From BBC • Jul. 11, 2023

Although, for the sake of all life, we should probably aspire to avoid killing ourselves with nuclear winter and global warming — lest we leave behind a planet of microscopic, hydrogen-munching bacteria.

From Salon • Feb. 10, 2023

The voice emanating from the aluminum speaker grid was as serious as a nuclear winter.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer