atom-bomb

[ at-uhm-bom ]

verb (used with object)

1. to bomb (a target) with an atomic bomb.

verb (used without object)

1. to atom-bomb a target.

Word History and Origins

Origin of atom-bomb¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Cumulonimbus clouds producing thunder have very strong air currents - they can carry the same amount of energy as 10 Hiroshima-sized atom bombs.

From BBC

Last month, American spy agencies told Congress, as well as foreign allies, that Mr. Putin might deploy and use an atom bomb in space that could disable thousands of satellites.

From New York Times

“Going on in the air, under the effect of sunlight, are billions of miniature ‘atom bomb’ explosions, a chain reaction of violence and chemical fury.”

From Los Angeles Times

The core of every nuclear warhead is a hollow, globe-shaped plutonium pit made by engineers at the Energy Department’s lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico, birthplace of the atom bomb.

From Seattle Times

The invention of the atom bomb has shaped both history and ecosystems across the globe.

From Scientific American

Related Words

• atomic bomb
• hydrogen bomb
• neutron bomb
• nuclear warhead