Meanings
nounnuclear weapon (plural nuclear weapons)
plural nuclear weapons
- A weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion.
Even if they managed to strike Japan, the United States or South Korea with nuclear weapons — a big if, given that they do not have a reliable delivery system — they could not save themselves from ultimate defeat.
2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times1 more example
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 the outset that it would be very difficult to produce a major SALT breakthrough at Summit III.
1978, Richard Nixon, “The Presidency 1973–1974”, in RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 1024Synonyms: atomic weapon, thermonuclear weapon, nuke
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna weapon of mass destruction whose explosive power derives from a nuclear reaction
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Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Arabic سِلَاح نَوَوِيّ
- سِلَاح نَوَوِيّ (silāḥ nawawiyy)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Bengali পারমাণবিক অস্ত্র
- পারমাণবিক অস্ত্র (paromaṇobik ostro)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Bulgarian я́дрено оръ́жие, а́томно оръ́жие
- я́дрено оръ́жие (jádreno orắžie)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- а́томно оръ́жие (átomno orắžie)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Chinese Mandarin 核武器, 核子武器
- 核武器 (héwǔqì)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- 核子武器 (hézǐ wǔqì)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- 核武 (héwǔ)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Czech jaderná zbraň, atomová zbraň
- jaderná zbraňa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- atomová zbraňa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Danish atomvåben, kernevåben
- atomvåbena weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- kernevåbena weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Dutch kernwapen, atoomwapen
- kernwapena weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- atoomwapena weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Esperanto nuklea armilo
- nuklea armiloa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Estonian tuumarelv
- tuumarelva weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Finnish ydinase
- ydinasea weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
French arme nucléaire, arme atomique
- arme nucléairea weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- arme atomiquea weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
German Atomwaffe, Kernwaffe
- Atomwaffea weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- Kernwaffea weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- Nuklearwaffea weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Greek πυρηνικό όπλο
- πυρηνικό όπλο (pyrinikó óplo)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Hebrew נֶשֶׁק גַּרְעִינִי
- נֶשֶׁק גַּרְעִינִי (neshek gar'ini)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Hindi नाभिकीय अस्त्र, परमाणु हथियार
- नाभिकीय अस्त्र (nābhikīya astra)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- परमाणु हथियार (parmāṇu hathiyār)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- आण्विक हथियार (āṇvik hathiyār)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Hungarian nukleáris fegyver, atomfegyver
- nukleáris fegyvera weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- atomfegyvera weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Icelandic kjarnavopn
- kjarnavopna weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Indonesian senjata nuklir
- senjata nuklira weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Irish arm núicléacha, airm núicléacha
- arm núicléachaa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- airm núicléachaa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Italian arma nucleare
- arma nuclearea weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Japanese 核兵器, 核
- 核兵器 (kakuheiki)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- 核 (kaku)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Korean 핵무기, 핵
- 핵무기 (haengmugi)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- 핵 (haek)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Latvian kodolierocis
- kodolierocisa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Lithuanian branduolinis ginklas
- branduolinis ginklasa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Malay senjata nuklear
- senjata nukleara weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Norwegian Bokmål atomvåpen, kjernevåpen
- atomvåpena weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- kjernevåpena weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- a-våpena weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Polish broń jądrowa, broń atomowa
- broń jądrowaa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- broń atomowaa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- broń nuklearnaa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Portuguese arma nuclear
- arma nucleara weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Romanian armă nucleară, armă atomică
- armă nuclearăa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- armă atomicăa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Russian я́дерное ору́жие, а́томное ору́жие
- я́дерное ору́жие (jádernoje orúžije)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- а́томное ору́жие (átomnoje orúžije)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Slovak jadrová zbraň, atómová zbraň
- jadrová zbraňa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- atómová zbraňa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Spanish arma nuclear
- arma nucleara weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Swahili silaha ya nyuklia
- silaha ya nyukliaa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Swedish kärnvapen
- kärnvapena weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Tagalog buturing sandata
- buturing sandataa weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Thai อาวุธนิวเคลียร์
- อาวุธนิวเคลียร์ (aa-wút-niu-kliia)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Turkish nükleer silah
- nükleer silaha weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Ukrainian я́дерна збро́я, а́томна збро́я
- я́дерна збро́я (jáderna zbrója)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
- а́томна збро́я (átomna zbrója)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Urdu جَوہَری ہَتِھیار
- جَوہَری ہَتِھیار (jauharī hathiyār)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Vietnamese vũ khí hạt nhân
- vũ khí hạt nhâna weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Welsh arf niwclear
- arf niwcleara weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Yiddish נוקלעאַרער וואָפֿן
- נוקלעאַרער וואָפֿן (nuklearer vofn)a weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion
Cite this entry
APA
nuclear weapon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuclear%20weapon
MLA
“nuclear weapon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuclear%20weapon. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nuclear weapon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuclear%20weapon.
Source: nuclear weapon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.