weapon of mass destruction
"weapon-of-mass-destruction" is a 23-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“weapon of mass destruction” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 26
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any human-made weapon causing indiscriminate large-scale death or destruction, especially a biological weapon, chemical weapon, nuclear weapon or radiological weapon.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | weapon of mass destruction |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 26 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “weapon of mass destruction” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
weapon of mass destruction is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any human-made weapon causing indiscriminate large-scale death or destruction, especially a biological weapon, chemical weapon, nuclear weapon or radiological weapon.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for weapon of mass destruction, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1937 in referring to bombing campaigns during the Spanish Civil War. The correct English form is weapon of mass destruction, spelled W-E-A-P-O-N- -O-F- -M-A-S-S- -D-E-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1Any human-made weapon causing indiscriminate large-scale death or destruction, especially a biological weapon, chemical weapon, nuclear weapon or radiological weapon.
Etymology
First attested in 1937 in referring to bombing campaigns during the Spanish Civil War.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "weapon of mass destruction"?
What does "weapon of mass destruction" mean?
What is the origin of the word "weapon of mass destruction"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “weapon of mass destruction”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-E-A-P-O-N- -O-F- -M-A-S-S- -D-E-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.