weapons of mass destruction

British  

plural noun

1.  WMD.  nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons that can cause indiscriminate death or injury on a large scale

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weapons of mass destruction Cultural  

1. Weapons that can produce devastating results when delivered in a single strike. They include nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.

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One of the great challenges of the twenty-first century will be to constrain the proliferation and use of such weapons, especially by terrorists (see terrorism).

Example Sentences

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weapons of mass destruction

“We have weapons of mass destruction, but no plasterers.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

Other Americans have advocated for strong bureaucracies to monitor potentially apocalyptic activities like testing weapons of mass destruction as far back as Adlai Stevenson's 1956 presidential campaign.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2024

The ruling moved authority to judges and away from agency experts, he said, even those in highly technical fields who provide oversight on weapons of mass destruction, cybersecurity and biohazards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2024

Some scholars have, however, voiced concern about whether using weapons of mass destruction to signpost humankind’s transformation of the planet would send the wrong kind of message about our time.

From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

Those engaged in the development and manufacture of weapons of mass destruction are given salaries, perquisites of power and, where possible, public honors at the highest levels available in their respective societies.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan