nuclear

adjective

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nu·cle·ar | \ ˈnü-klē-ər

, ˈnyü-

, nonstandard -kyə-lər \

Definition of nuclear

1 : of, relating to, or constituting a nucleus annexation of the suburban fringe by the nuclear metropolis— W. H. Wickwar

2a : of or relating to the atomic nucleus nuclear reaction nuclear physics

b : used in or produced by a nuclear reaction (such as fission) nuclear fuel nuclear waste nuclear energy

c(1) : being a weapon whose destructive power derives from an uncontrolled nuclear reaction

(2) : of, produced by, or involving nuclear weapons the nuclear age nuclear war

(3) : armed with nuclear weapons nuclear powers

d : of, relating to, or powered by nuclear energy a nuclear submarine the nuclear debate a nuclear plant

go nuclear

informal

: to become wildly excited or upset : to go berserk To say the crowd went wild is an understatement. The crowd went nuclear. Outside the stadium, cars were overturned and fires were set. We sportswriters huddled inside, fearing for our lives.— Tony Kornheiser

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Examples of nuclear in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Proponents of small reactors, the earliest of which are not slated to come online until late this decade, say they can be produced more cheaply than traditional nuclear plants because they can be manufactured in an assembly-line fashion. — Josh Siegel, Washington Examiner, "Daily on Energy: Explaining the oil market’s muted response to Suez Canal blockade," 25 Mar. 2021 Hiroyuki Kawai, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said the ruling highlighted the reality of the risks nuclear plants pose to the people in the neighboring communities. — Star Tribune, "Japan court denies nuke plant restart over evacuation plan," 18 Mar. 2021 While the arm that owned the nuclear plants was spun off from FirstEnergy after filing for bankruptcy protection in 2018 and is now known as Energy Harbor, there could be remaining financial ramifications for its former parent. — Cara Lombardo, WSJ, "FirstEnergy Reaches Deal to Give Carl Icahn Two Board Seats," 16 Mar. 2021 About 80,000 metric tons of waste from commercial nuclear plants are stored across the country — 121 sites in 35 states — because the federal government has not constructed a repository to store any of it. — Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Report looks at what to do with the nuclear waste at San Onofre," 16 Mar. 2021 Clark, 67, was arrested last July and charged with racketeering as part of a federal investigation into HB6, which bailed out two Ohio nuclear plants owned by a former FirstEnergy subsidiary. — Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland, "Columbus lobbyist charged in HB6 probe dies," 16 Mar. 2021 He was accused last year of playing a key role in a $61 million scheme to elect Larry Householder to the House Speaker post and pass a bailout for two Ohio nuclear plants. — Jackie Borchardt, The Enquirer, "Florida authorities investigating death of Ohio lobbyist Neil Clark, indicted in bribery scandal," 16 Mar. 2021 Indeed, 80% of critical infrastructure in this country, including nuclear plants, the electric grid, telecommunication networks, and transportation systems, is owned or operated by the private sector. — Fortune, "What the first-ever U.S. national cyber director will need to succeed," 11 Mar. 2021 The reproductive toxins that render most women infertile in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), for example, derive from leaking nuclear plants and discarded chemical weapon stockpiles—very much humanity’s doing. — Regina Marler, The New York Review of Books, "The Emergency Everywhere," 9 Mar. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nuclear.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.