mushroom cloud
noun
: a mushroom-shaped cloud
specifically : one caused by the explosion of a nuclear weapon
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Sergey Milochinsky, a local resident, recalled hearing a roar and seeing a mushroom cloud from his window. 
Susan Blann, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Aug. 2022 Sergey Milochinsky, a local resident, recalled hearing a roar and seeing a mushroom cloud from his window. Susie Blann, ajc, 10 Aug. 2022 Less than a second later a fireball erupts, then turns into a mushroom cloud. Joyce Sohyun Lee, Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2022 Nuke imagery seemed so harmless, the kiddie rap duo Kris Kross could put a mushroom cloud on the cover of their 1993 album Da Bomb, without any controversy in this country. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2022 Science, in other words, became strongly associated with power, perhaps exemplified by the mushroom cloud exploding over Hiroshima in August 1945. Francis Fukuyama, Harper’s Magazine , 27 Apr. 2022 Military officials have said that the explosion of a GBU-57 feels like a nuclear blast, and a test of the bomb in 2003 produced a mushroom cloud visible 20 miles (32 kilometers) away. Anthony Capaccio, Bloomberg.com, 1 Apr. 2022 Standing at the edge of the pier and looking through a mobile device held up against the sky, viewers will see an enormous, fiery mushroom cloud swell up from the surface of the ocean before exploding. Deborah Vankin Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2022 The plume of ash and smoke flared 12 miles in the air, bursting on satellite feeds like a mushroom cloud and gripping the attention of meteorologists and tsunami scientists. Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2022 See More
Susan Blann, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Aug. 2022 Sergey Milochinsky, a local resident, recalled hearing a roar and seeing a mushroom cloud from his window. Susie Blann, ajc, 10 Aug. 2022 Less than a second later a fireball erupts, then turns into a mushroom cloud. Joyce Sohyun Lee, Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2022 Nuke imagery seemed so harmless, the kiddie rap duo Kris Kross could put a mushroom cloud on the cover of their 1993 album Da Bomb, without any controversy in this country. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2022 Science, in other words, became strongly associated with power, perhaps exemplified by the mushroom cloud exploding over Hiroshima in August 1945. Francis Fukuyama, Harper’s Magazine , 27 Apr. 2022 Military officials have said that the explosion of a GBU-57 feels like a nuclear blast, and a test of the bomb in 2003 produced a mushroom cloud visible 20 miles (32 kilometers) away. Anthony Capaccio, Bloomberg.com, 1 Apr. 2022 Standing at the edge of the pier and looking through a mobile device held up against the sky, viewers will see an enormous, fiery mushroom cloud swell up from the surface of the ocean before exploding. Deborah Vankin Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2022 The plume of ash and smoke flared 12 miles in the air, bursting on satellite feeds like a mushroom cloud and gripping the attention of meteorologists and tsunami scientists. Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
circa 1909, in the meaning defined above