nuclear winter
noun
the general devastation of life, along with worldwide darkness and extreme cold, that some scientists believe would result from a global dust cloud screening out sunlight following large-scale nuclear detonations.
Origin of nuclear winter
First recorded in 1980–85
Words nearby nuclear winter
nuclear threshold,
nuclear transfer,
nuclear warhead,
nuclear waste,
nuclear weapon,
nuclear winter,
nuclear-free zone,
nuclearism,
nuclearize,
nuclease,
nucleate
British Dictionary definitions for nuclear winter
nuclear winter
noun
a period of extremely low temperatures and little light that, it has been suggested, would occur as a result of a nuclear war
Cultural definitions for nuclear winter
nuclear winter
A theory first put forward in 1983 predicting that a large-scale nuclear exchange would produce enough smoke and soot to lower the temperature of the Earth significantly. Subsequent calculations indicated that the climatic effects would be much less than had originally been claimed, leading to the use of the term nuclear autumn to describe the phenomenon.