plutonium bomb
1
7.2
- noun
- /pluˈtoʊniəm bɑm/
- Specialized
:
bomba de plutonio
- Iran doesn't have the technology for a plutonium bomb.
- the first plutonium bomb
Examples
-
The FBI identified David Greenglass, a skilled machinist who worked on the implosion fuse for the plutonium bomb, as the second source.
Blog text (21) -
Rocky Flats, sixteen miles northwest of Denver, is the nation's plutonium bomb manufacturing site.
-
Rocky Flats, sixteen miles northwest of Denver, is the nation's plutonium bomb manufacturing site.
Academic text (1990) -
Less than a month after the test of the plutonium bomb, another one was exploded over Nagasaki, Japan, on 9 August 1945.
Academic text (2012) -
The first plutonium bomb incorporated six kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium, of which more than 250 tons have now been made.
Synonyms
634
3.5
A very powerful bomb that uses energy from splitting or joining atoms
148
7.6
A very powerful bomb that uses nuclear energy
66
2.3
A very powerful weapon that splits atoms to make a huge explosion and destroy large areas
35
5.0
A part of a missile or bomb that contains a nuclear bomb
32
3.0
A very powerful weapon that splits atoms to release huge energy
16
3.0
A very powerful weapon that splits atoms to cause a huge explosion
11
3.5
A very powerful explosive that uses energy from splitting or joining atoms to destroy things
1
5.1
Part of a missile or bomb that explodes and has a nuclear weapon
1
6.7
A bomb that releases a huge amount of energy by splitting heavy atoms like uranium or plutonium
How Destructive
- Specialized
1
6.9
- Specialized
1
7.2
- Specialized
1
6.7
- Specialized
123
4.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward noun–noun composition: 'plutonium' (a radioactive element used in nuclear applications) + 'bomb' (an explosive device) yields a bomb that uses plutonium as its core. This is a literal, compositional meaning following common compounding patterns found across languages, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Plutonium bomb comes from the element plutonium, which was named after the planet Pluto and the god of the underworld. Because the bomb uses plutonium at its core to make a very large 'nuclear' explosion, the name points to a weapon with hidden, deadly power.