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

See Examples For:

weapons of mass destruction

U.S. presidents have long sought to prevent Middle Eastern countries from acquiring technologies that could be used to build weapons of mass destruction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

It also bans nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction on the moon or in Earth’s orbit.

From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026

Cheney saw that the threat ran beyond Afghanistan and al Qaeda, that terrorists planned more attacks on America, and they might involve weapons of mass destruction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025

The rival drafts focused on different types of weapons, with the U.S. and Japan specifying weapons of mass destruction.

From Seattle Times ● May 20, 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