mushroom cloud

noun

: a mushroom-shaped cloud
specifically : one caused by the explosion of a nuclear weapon

Examples of mushroom cloud in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Nuclear fallout is caused by radioactive material inside the mushroom cloud of a nuclear detonation falling from the sky as the cloud drifts with the wind in the minutes, hours and days after the explosion. Davis Winkie, USA Today, 6 Jan. 2026 The tremendous impact also flung a mushroom cloud of ash and dust into the atmosphere, eventually shrouding the planet in a cold gloom. Joanna Thompson, Space.com, 18 Nov. 2025 Literature—the foundational art—would react to the electromagnetic pulse and the haze of the mushroom cloud, for how couldn’t it? Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2025 The unknown model had cotton cut into the shape of a mushroom cloud pinned to her bathing suit. Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mushroom cloud

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mushroom cloud was circa 1909

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Cite this Entry

“Mushroom cloud.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mushroom%20cloud. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

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