the.com/nuke
To destroy something completely, especially with a nuclear weapon or in a microwave.
means To destroy with a nuclear weapon, or informally, to obliterate, zap, or ruin something completely (including, famously, leftovers in a microwave).
from Shortened from 'nuclear' in mid-20th-century American military and journalistic slang, once atomic weapons became a grim fact of life. The word's casual, punchy sound quickly outgrew its deadly origin — by the late 20th century 'nuke' had drifted into kitchens, meaning simply to microwave food, a strange linguistic journey from Armageddon to reheating pizza.
- origin
- short for nuclear, coined mid-20th century
- energy source
- splitting or fusing atoms, not chemicals
- microwave slang
- zapping burritos borrowed the apocalypse's name
- current count
- roughly 12000 exist worldwide today