atomic bomb

noun

1

: a bomb whose violent explosive power is due to the sudden release of energy resulting from the splitting of nuclei of a heavy chemical element (such as plutonium or uranium) by neutrons in a very rapid chain reaction

called also atom bomb

2

: a nuclear weapon (such as a hydrogen bomb)

Examples of atomic bomb in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, the flagging of some images — including one of the historic Enola Gay aircraft, the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan during the final stages of World War II — has raised some questions about the criteria used by the Pentagon. —Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2025

The three-hour film from director Christopher Nolan recounts the life of the late Robert J. Oppenheimer, the American physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb during World War II. —Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2025

The film has particular local resonance, being the story of a decades-spanning love story between an Icelandic man and a Japanese woman who is a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack of 1945 and who battles the stigma associated with the survivors, known in Japan as Hibakusha. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 13 Jan. 2025

Iranian officials have increasingly suggested Tehran could pursue an atomic bomb. —Stephanie Liechtenstein The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 27 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for atomic bomb

• microbiome
• aplomb
• balaam
• cocom
• embalm
• islam
• pogrom
• salaam
• sitcom
• balm
• bom
• calm

Kids Definition

atomic bomb

noun

1

: a bomb whose violent explosive power is due to the sudden release of energy resulting from the splitting of nuclei of a heavy chemical element (as plutonium or uranium) by neutrons

called also atom bomb

2

: hydrogen bomb