NBC

Noun

nuclear weapon (plural nuclear weapons)

1. A weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion.
   • When Kissinger went to Moscow on March 24 for four days of talks aimed at setting the agenda for Summit III, he reported that Brezhnev seemed to be confronting some of the same problems as we were of military opposition to a permanent agreement to limit offensive nuclear weapons. Thus we knew from...1978, Richard Nixon, “The Presidency 1973–1974”, in RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 1024

   Synonyms:

   atomic weapon, thermonuclear weapon, nuke

Adjective

nuclear (not comparable)

1. Pertaining to the nucleus of an atom.
2. Involving energy released by nuclear reactions (fission, fusion, radioactive decay).
   • a nuclear reactor
3. Relating to a weapon that derives its force from rapid release of energy through nuclear reactions.
   • a nuclear explosion
4. Having nuclear weapons.
   • They will blame him for pursuing the ideological aim of destruction of Israel – something many Iranians don't support. They will blame him for what they perceive as a folly – his belief that achieving nuclear status would render his regime invincible.2025 June 26, Kasra Naji, “When Iran's supreme leader emerges from hiding he will find a very different nation”, in BBC
5. (broadly, figuratively) Involving an extreme course of action, or one with severe consequences.
   • nuclear option, nuclear solution
6. Pertaining to the nucleus of a cell.
   • However, the DNA in a bacterial cell is a single circular molecule and there is no separate nuclear compartment.2011, Terence Allen, Graham Cowling, The Cell: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, page 17

See all 10 meanings of nuclear