weapon of mass destruction
158
4.8
- noun
- /ˈwɛpən əv mæs dɪsˈtrʌkʃən/
- Formal
- Give up your weapons of mass destruction.
- weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
- proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
- nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction
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Watch on YouTubeIraq weapons of mass destruction and we all knew better, man.
- Iraq weapons of mass destruction and we all knew better, man.
- So will we use weapons of mass destruction?
- And he said, look, Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction.
- For instance, why would anybody pretend to the West he still had weapons of mass destruction programs when he didn't?
- But the Western governments deemed that he had weapons of mass destruction or had sort of covert projects going on from everything even to nuclear.
- That said, we are now in the era of just as we have weapons of mass destruction with nuclear weapons, you know, that can break the whole playing field.
- He was Iraq says weapons of mass destruction, and there was no weapons found.
- He can get those fucking weapons of mass destruction out for you lot.
- Options or a weapon of mass destruction.
- We had even Saddam Hussein's generals believed he had weapons of mass destruction.
- No, and it's not just it's not just because of intelligence and and weapons of mass destruction and all that.
Examples
-
We think that the weapons of mass destruction cannot be controlled by local or regional measures.
Academic text (1994) -
And we'll be going for his weapons of mass destruction.
Fiction book (1994) -
We're looking for weapons of mass destruction!
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These are weapons of mass destruction.
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Where and how quickly will weapons of mass destruction spread?
Academic text (1994) -
But in an age of weapons of mass destruction, they are a major danger.
Academic text (2015) -
Finally, the United States government should adopt a "no first use of weapons of mass destruction" policy.
Academic text (2000) -
Most experts agree that it is only a matter of time until terrorists use weapons of mass destruction.
Academic text (2000) -
Another war between these two antagonists could well involve weapons of mass destruction.
Academic text (1996) -
Many countries are working together to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction in conflict zones.
Synonyms
396
3.5
A very powerful bomb that uses energy from splitting or joining atoms
138
4.6
A harmful chemical that kills or hurts people, animals and plants in war
124
7.6
A very powerful bomb that uses nuclear energy
68
5.6
A weapon that uses germs like bacteria or viruses to harm people, animals and plants
61
2.3
A very powerful weapon that splits atoms to make a huge explosion and destroy large areas
37
5.0
A part of a missile or bomb that contains a nuclear bomb
31
6.1
A weapon that can kill or injure many people, such as nuclear, chemical and biological weapons
24
3.0
A very powerful weapon that splits atoms to cause a huge explosion
14
3.0
A very powerful weapon that splits atoms to release huge energy
12
3.5
A very powerful explosive that uses energy from splitting or joining atoms to destroy things
11
4.9
A very powerful nuclear bomb that makes a huge explosion by joining hydrogen atoms
5
4.6
A bomb that releases toxic gas when it explodes
4
7.0
A weapon that kills people mainly with radiation but leaves buildings mostly standing
3
5.8
A weapon that releases toxic chemicals when it explodes to kill or harm people
2
6.7
A bomb that releases a huge amount of energy by splitting heavy atoms like uranium or plutonium
1
6.3
A weapon that makes a very large explosion by joining light atoms like hydrogen
1
5.6
A weapon that can kill many people, for example nuclear, chemical or biological weapons
1
5.1
Part of a missile or bomb that explodes and has a nuclear weapon
1
6.9
A very powerful weapon that makes a huge explosion by joining tiny hydrogen atoms at extreme heat
1
7.4
A bomb put on a missile that uses nuclear energy to make a very large explosion
1
9.9
A bomb with the power of several million tons of TNT
Antonyms
How Destructive
Surface Forms
Morphology
weapon + of + mass + destruction
The phrase literally combines 'weapon' (an instrument of harm) with 'mass' (large-scale) and 'destruction' (irreversible damage), so a learner who knows those words can infer it means a weapon that causes large-scale damage. The 'of' linking and similar constructions in many languages make this compositional meaning predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Weapon of mass destruction puts together the idea of a single weapon causing 'mass' destruction, for example one bomb that can kill large numbers of people and destroy whole cities. That's why the phrase means 'a weapon that causes very large-scale death or damage'.