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first strike definition

first strike

a surprise attack with nuclear weapons, made with the intention of destroying an enemy nation's means of effective retaliation

Related Forms:

  • first-strike first′·-strike′ (fʉrst′strīk′) adjective

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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