Hiroshima

H4I1R1O1S1H4I1M3A1
UK/hɪ(ə)ˈɹɒʃɪmə/UK/hɪ(ə)ɹəˈʃiːmə/US/hɪˈɹoʊʃɪmə/US/hɪɹoʊˈʃiːmə/

proper noun

A prefecture in southwestern Honshu, Japan.

Less commonScrabble 17
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A prefecture in southwestern Honshu, Japan.
  2. The capital city of Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan; the target of the first atomic bomb dropped in warfare on August 6, 1945.

    A short time ago, an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima and destroyed its usefulness to the enemy.

    1945 August 6, Harry S. Truman, 0:18 from the start, in VT2008-9-2 President Truman Announces Bombing of Hiroshima, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 23630, archived from the original on 02 Nov 2021
    2 more examples

    This slab is where the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75 years ago were put together. It’s the assembly point for the dawning of the atomic age.

    2020 August 6, Brad Lendon, “Hiroshima after 75 years: Walking the path of the atomic bomb”, in CNN

    Kishida told the executives, including those from Micron Technology Inc (MU), Intel Corp (INTC) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSM) (TSMC), that stabilizing supply chains would be a topic of discussion at the G7 talks in the western city of Hiroshima.

    2023 May 18, Reuters, “Chipmakers look to Japan as worries about China grow”, in CNN Business
  3. The 1945 atomic bombing of the city.

    VINCENT: Tens of thousands killed before sundown; nobody's killed people that fast since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

    2004, Stuart Beattie, Collateral, DreamWorks Pictures
noun
  1. figurativelyA catastrophe.

    Stuxnet is the Hiroshima of cyber-war.

    2011 April, Michael Joseph Gross, “A Declaration of Cyber-War”, in Vanity Fair

Origin

Borrowed from Japanese 広(ひろ)島(しま) (Hiroshima). Transliteration of Japanese ひろしま

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic هِيرُوشِيمَا
  • هِيرُوشِيمَا (hirušīmā)a city in Honshu, Japan
Bulgarian Хироши́ма
  • Хироши́ма (Hirošíma)a city in Honshu, Japan
Chinese Cantonese 廣島 /广岛
  • 廣島 /广岛 (gwong² dou²)a city in Honshu, Japan
Chinese Mandarin 廣島 /广岛
  • 廣島 /广岛 (Guǎngdǎo)a city in Honshu, Japan
Czech Hirošima
  • Hirošimaa city in Honshu, Japan
Dutch Hiroshima
  • Hiroshimaa city in Honshu, Japan
Esperanto Hiroŝimo
  • Hiroŝimoa city in Honshu, Japan
Finnish Hiroshima
  • Hiroshimaa city in Honshu, Japan
German Hiroschima
  • Hiroschimaa city in Honshu, Japan
Greek Χιροσίμα
  • Χιροσίμα (Chirosíma)a city in Honshu, Japan
Hindi हिरोशिमा
  • हिरोशिमा (hirośimā)a city in Honshu, Japan
Hungarian Hirosima
  • Hirosimaa city in Honshu, Japan
Italian Hiroshima, Iroscima
  • Hiroshimaa city in Honshu, Japan
  • Iroscimaa city in Honshu, Japan
Japanese 広島
  • 広島a city in Honshu, Japan
Korean 히로시마
  • 히로시마 (Hirosima)a city in Honshu, Japan
Latin Hiroshima
  • Hiroshimaa city in Honshu, Japan
Polish Hiroszima
  • Hiroszimaa city in Honshu, Japan
Portuguese Hiroxima
  • Hiroximaa city in Honshu, Japan
Romanian Hiroshima
  • Hiroshimaa city in Honshu, Japan
Russian Хироси́ма
  • Хироси́ма (Xirosíma)a city in Honshu, Japan
Tamil ஹிரோஷிமா
  • ஹிரோஷிமா (hirōṣimā)a city in Honshu, Japan
Thai ฮิโรชิมะ
  • ฮิโรชิมะ (hí-roo-chí-má)a city in Honshu, Japan
Turkish Hiroşima
  • Hiroşimaa city in Honshu, Japan
Cite this entry
APA

Hiroshima. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hiroshima

MLA

“Hiroshima.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hiroshima. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hiroshima,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hiroshima.

Source: Hiroshima on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.