nuclear option

noun

1

: the option of using nuclear weapons in war

… it is now unimaginable that we would use anything approaching the full measure of our military power (the nuclear option aside) in the wars we fight.

—Shelby Steele

2

: an extreme option regarded as a drastic step or last resort

The EU has most leverage over countries that are desperate to join. Once in the club, with full voting rights, countries can answer back, leaving their peers with only the nuclear option of trying to expel them.

—The Economist

specifically, US politics : a parliamentary procedure in the U.S. Senate by which the requirement of the affirmative votes of a supermajority of senators is changed to require only a simple majority to invoke cloture in order to stop a filibuster and allow a vote on a matter (such as a judicial nomination) to proceed

Since Republicans can't muster the 60 votes necessary to overcome this particular filibuster, they now want to use their authority over Senate procedures to abolish the maneuver itself, at least for judicial nominees. Exercising this "nuclear option," as it is known, would theoretically require the support of just a simple majority of senators, which Republican leaders say they are on the verge of solidifying.

—Jonathan Cohn

Examples of nuclear option in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The nuclear option Since the Trump administration abandoned the nuclear agreement with Tehran in 2018, to put curbs on its nuclear program, the Islamic Republic has been gradually ramping up enrichment of uranium, a key ingredient of a nuclear bomb if purified to a high level. —Mostafa Salem, CNN, 29 Oct. 2024

The 49ers have the nuclear option of forcing Aiyuk to play on his current deal. —David Lombardi, The Athletic, 23 Aug. 2024

The tech giant is still looking for carbon-free energy deals to support rising energy demand from its AI development, and Zuckerberg is unhappy with the U.S.’ limited nuclear options, people told the publication. —Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 4 Nov. 2024

Completely severing a country’s access to SWIFT is the nuclear option in the U.S. sanctions arsenal. —Agathe Demarais, Foreign Affairs, 27 Dec. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined at sense 1