first strike
noun
the initial use of nuclear weapons in a conflict, in which the attacker tries to destroy the adversary's strategic nuclear forces.
Origin of first strike
First recorded in 1960–65
Words nearby first strike
first run,
first school,
first secretary,
first sergeant,
first state,
first strike,
first string,
first thing,
first things first,
first water,
first world
Example sentences from the Web for first-strike
The U.S. had achieved the first-strike capability it had long been seeking.
Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick On How Obama Should Handle the Crisis In Syria |Oliver Stone, Peter Kuznick |October 15, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
British Dictionary definitions for first-strike
first-strike
adjective
(of a nuclear missile) intended for use in an opening attack calculated to destroy the enemy's nuclear weapons