fallout shelter

noun

: a shelter built underground to protect people from radioactive fallout
Beginning in the 1970s, curious tales began to emerge from Washington, D.C., about a "doomsday hotel." Located near the nation's capital, it was said to be the ultimate fallout shelter. But only for the well-connected.Popular Mechanics

Examples of fallout shelter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Bachman writes that 1961 plans for an office building at 28 Rope Ferry Road, near the current day Community Center, included a fallout shelter for 300 people. Daniel Drainville, Hartford Courant, 6 July 2024 On the cover, Dylan is seated with a cat on his lap, surrounded by movie magazines, a fallout shelter sign, a copy of Time with Lyndon Johnson on the cover, and several vinyl records, including his previous LP, Another Side of Bob Dylan. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 3 May 2024 The arena Lucy must survive, as well as the bevy of television screens, feels more 1970s fallout shelter and less future-tech. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 27 Apr. 2023 Ella Purnell stars as Lucy, an idealistic young woman born underground in a luxury fallout shelter, who knows nothing of the wasteland above. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024 The basement, which used to be an unground fallout shelter, has also been turned into a wine cellar. Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 6 July 2023 Kennedy encouraged but didn’t subsidize construction of these private bunkers (though his administration did implement a fallout shelter loan program). Jenn Morson, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2023 Dorothy thinks her dad could easily have built a fallout shelter. Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2020 Just a few years earlier, there was the Victorville gold mine that became a fallout shelter — for a while, anyway. Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fallout shelter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fallout shelter was in 1955

Dictionary Entries Near fallout shelter

Cite this Entry

“Fallout shelter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fallout%20shelter. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!