Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to attack with a nuclear bomb.

1962		in J.C. Pratt Vietnam Voices (1984) 121: No one’s going to nuke Nam.
1976		P. Conroy Great Santini (1977) 392: Why don’t we just go ahead and nuke the hell out of Moscow, Havana, and Peking?
1989		T. Blacker Fixx 311: Men not afraid to nuke an egg factory to make an omelette.
1999		L. Gould Shagadelically Speaking 146: He cannot nuke Dr. Evil and instead has to pay him his blackmail money.
2002		S. Maloney Something Fishy (2006) 29: French nuke Pacific atoll.
2022		J. Hannaham Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit 45: She decided to [...] make sure 42nd Street hadn’t gotten nuked out of existence.

2. (orig. US) to punish severely, to destroy completely, to ruin.

1968		Current Sl. II:3 5: Nuke, v. To get revenge in a ‘big’ way.
1989		J. Doyle College Sl. Dict. 🌐 nuke [RIT] 1. to destroy or delete 2. to pull a prank on someone.
1989		M. Amis London Fields 408: This nuked feeling, the kind of ache you get from a vaccination – when the syringe is six feet long.
1996		P. Temple Bad Debts (2012) [ebook] You don’t want to nuke the bastards. We want ’em there next time.
1998		C. Fleming High Concept 123: Scorch the earth and nuke the dopers.
2000		Guardian G2 2 Feb. 11: Whatever disgusting gunk it took to nuke the nits.
2021		J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 43: My nerves were nuked. I took three quick pops of Old Crow.

3. (US campus) to end a relationship with a girl or boyfriend.

1988

Eble Campus Sl. Mar.

4. (US campus) of food, to warm up in a microwave, to cook well.

1984		Eble Campus Sl. Sept. 6: nuke – cook something in a microwave oven: Nuke it.
1999		Guardian Editor 28 May 8: The microwave senses muffins and nukes them just right.
2007		S. Maloney Sucked In 26: I [...] sliced a cucumber and nuked a couple of kipflers.
2020		D. Winslow ‘The Last Ride’ in Broken 296: She nukes her Salisbury steak.

5. (US campus, also nuke oneself) to get a tan in a tanning booth.

1988		Eble Campus Sl. Mar.
1989		P. Munro Sl. U.

6. of hair, to blow dry or spray excessively.

1996

K. Lette Mad Cows 122: Petronella nuked her high-rise hair with one final blast of 505 Stay and Hold.

7. (US) to execute in the electric chair.

1992

D. Launer My Cousin Vinny [film script] They’re gonna nuke this guy Norton this weekend.