Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nuke it from orbit

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.22 in modern English

Syllables
nuke it from or-bit
IPA
26
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
2
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To completely eliminate a dangerous or undesirable thing.

Humorous; Informal

Etymology

Alteration of dialog from the 1986 movie Aliens in which Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) proposes a solution to an infestation of dangerous creatures: "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

Usage

Inflected Forms

nukes it from orbit (present, singular) nuking it from orbit (participle, present) nuked it from orbit (participle, past) nuked it from orbit (past)

Questions

What does nuke it from orbit mean?
To completely eliminate a dangerous or undesirable thing.
Where does nuke it from orbit come from?
Alteration of dialog from the 1986 movie Aliens in which Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) proposes a solution to an infestation of dangerous creatures: "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

How to pronounce nuke it from orbit

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