noun
nuke
nyook
noun
1
A nuclear weapon.
"The film imagined a world where a rogue state got hold of a nuke."
2
Informal: a microwave oven.
"Just stick the leftovers in the nuke for two minutes."
verb
1
To attack with nuclear weapons, or figuratively to destroy something completely.
"The general warned that the base could be nuked within hours."
"The update nuked all my saved settings."
2
Informal: to heat food in a microwave.
"He nuked his coffee to warm it back up."
How to Use Nuke
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSlang for a nuclear bomb, and casually, for blowing something up or zapping food in the microwave.
When to use it
Very informal — fine in conversation, but "nuclear weapon" or "microwave" are the neutral choices for formal writing.
Common pairings
nuke it in the microwave
drop a nuke
nuke the competition
Word Forms
nuked past tense, nukes plural, nukes singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “nuke”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The film imagined a world where a rogue state got hold of a _____.
Etymology
A shortening of "nuclear weapon"; the verb developed later from the noun.