mushroom cloud

noun

1. mushroom ( def 4 ).

mushroom cloud

noun

1. the large mushroom-shaped cloud of dust, debris, etc produced by a nuclear explosion

Word History and Origins

Origin of mushroom cloud¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

When John Folkes was 19 years old, he was on board a plane ordered to fly through four atomic bomb mushroom clouds.

From BBC

Federal investigators later concluded that the open burn and the black mushroom cloud it produced were unnecessary, but it was too late.

From Salon

And just as nuclear blasts produce a distinctive mushroom cloud, uncontrolled wildfires can be powerful enough to generate their own weather.

From Los Angeles Times

I crept to my one window and pulled aside the curtain, expecting to see a mushroom cloud rising over the Los Angeles basin.

From New York Times

Since Godzilla grew out of Japan’s atomic bombing trauma, his destruction of Tokyo’s Ginza district and assorted ships culminate in terrible — but gorgeous — mushroom clouds.

From Los Angeles Times