mushroom cloud
10
4.6
- noun
- /ˈmʌʃrum klaʊd/
:
nube en forma de hongo
- Witnesses described the mushroom cloud from the explosion as both terrifying and magnificent.
- mushroom cloud rising
- mushroom cloud billows
- nuclear mushroom cloud
There's nothing more terrifying and somehow inspiring than watching the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion.
- There's nothing more terrifying and somehow inspiring than watching the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion.
- And it creates this just kind of like mushroom cloud.
- We cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.
- And then noticing out at the horizon over the water, the mushroom cloud.
- Is it the toxicity or is it the mushroom cloud?
- This is hitting the atmosphere for a mushroom cloud If you Google it to give to give you an idea what's more terrifying.
Examples
-
I still remember the bright flash and the mushroom cloud, although it seemed at the time more a curiosity than a hazard.
Academic text (2012) -
The monitor shows the night vision picture of the growing mushroom cloud rising above the city.
Fiction book (1996) -
All he can see is a mushroom cloud.
-
Navy sources report the huge mushroom cloud is still visible for over 30 miles.
-
We'd be working out there in the field, and you know, you could see the mushroom cloud come up.
-
There's nothing more terrifying and somehow inspiring than watching the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion.
-
If the submarine is attacked, or if the missile is detonated prematurely, this entire ocean goes up in a mushroom cloud.
-
The test had come up as a big ball of flame go up into the sky and then it’d dissipate into a mushroom cloud, depending on how the wind was blowing.
-
Then slowly, like a giant rising from the earth, the fantastic mushroom cloud—a jagged lollipop on a narrow stick.
Academic text (2016) -
The Navy sources reported that the massive mushroom cloud could be seen from over 30 miles away.
Synonyms
22
8.3
A large cloud of smoke and dust with a round top after an explosion
A large cloud shaped like a mushroom that rises after a powerful explosion
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'mushroom' describes a shape and 'cloud' is a visible mass in the sky, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer a cloud shaped like a mushroom. The specialized association with explosions (especially nuclear) may require exposure, but the core visual/compositional meaning is transparent and follows a common cross-linguistic pattern.
Etymology
Mushroom cloud comes from the way smoke and hot air from a very large explosion rise, making a thin 'stem' and a wide top like a mushroom. That's why people call the tall cloud seen after a big explosion, often a 'nuclear' one.