nuke

American  

[nook, nyook] / nuk, nyuk /

noun

1. a nuclear or thermonuclear weapon.

2. a nuclear power plant or nuclear reactor.

3. nuclear energy.

   to convert from coal to nuke.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a nuclear or thermonuclear weapon or to a nuclear plant.

verb (used with object)

nuked, nuking

1. to attack, defeat, or destroy with or as if with nuclear weapons.

2. Slang.  to cook or bake in a microwave oven.

nuke British  

/ njuːk /

verb

1. to attack or destroy with nuclear weapons

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noun

1. a nuclear bomb

2. a military strike with nuclear weapons

3. nuclear power

4. a nuclear power plant

Etymology

Origin of nuke

First recorded in 1945–50; by shortening and respelling

Example Sentences

It’s helping the move from coal to fracked oil and natural gas to nukes.

From The Wall Street Journal

By then the boys are ready to nuke the deal.

From Salon

"We are surrounded by these great powers and walking on eggshells around them. To be competitive, we need to have nukes."

From BBC

The Kremlin leader has made clear he recognizes that he can’t use tactical nukes against Ukraine, which would harm Moscow more than Kyiv and infuriate Big Brother China.

From Seattle Times

Since then, he's been an electoral albatross around the GOP's neck, helping them lose in 2018 and 2020 and even, in 2022, nuking Republican chances in many elections they would have otherwise won.

From Salon