name
Chernobyl
chur-NO-buhl
name
1
A city in northern Ukraine, largely abandoned since the 1986 nuclear disaster there.
"Tourists can now visit the exclusion zone around Chernobyl."
2
The 1986 nuclear accident and its aftermath.
"The show dramatized the events of Chernobyl in gripping detail."
noun
1
By extension, any disastrous nuclear accident.
"Critics warned the ageing reactor could become "the next Chernobyl"."
How to Use Chernobyl
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishBest known as the site of the world's worst nuclear power plant disaster; sometimes used generically for any catastrophic nuclear accident.
Word Forms
Chernobyls plural
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Etymology
From Russian Černóbylʹ, ultimately from a word for "mugwort" or "wormwood".