nuke C2+ Topic:War & Conflict US /nuk/ UK /njuːk/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to attack with nuclear weapons; (informal) to heat in a microwave He nuked the leftovers for two minutes and ate at his desk. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to attack with nuclear... bombmicrowaveobliterateannihilatezapdestroy Word family Derived forms nukednuking Related forms nuclearnucleus Etymology AI details A clipping of nuclear (or nuclear weapon), from Latin nucleus ('kernel'), diminutive of nux ('nut'). The microwave sense is jocular slang. nucleus Latin View etymology graph -> Topics War & Conflict Register & Style External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # nuke **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /nuk/ **IPA (UK):** /njuːk/ ## Meanings 1. to attack with nuclear weapons; (informal) to heat in a microwave ## Examples - He nuked the leftovers for two minutes and ate at his desk. ## Synonyms - bomb - microwave - obliterate - annihilate - zap - destroy ## Derived Forms - nuked - nuking ## Related Forms - nuclear - nucleus ## Roots and Affixes - Root: nucleus ## Etymology A clipping of nuclear (or nuclear weapon), from Latin nucleus ('kernel'), diminutive of nux ('nut'). The microwave sense is jocular slang. ## AI Etymology Nuke is a clipping of nuclear (or nuclear weapon), from Latin nucleus ('kernel'), diminutive of nux ('nut'). The microwave sense is jocular slang. The etymological trail includes Latin nucleus. As a verb, nuke means to attack with nuclear weapons; (informal) to heat in a microwave. The same family is visible in derived forms such as nuked and nuking and related forms such as nuclear and nucleus. ## Topics - War & Conflict - Register & Style markdown