/n[y]ook/ 1. To intentionally delete the entire contents of a
given directory or storage volume. "On Unix, "rm -r /usr"
will nuke everything in the usr file system." Never used for
2. Synonym for
dike, applied to smaller things such as
files, features, or code sections. Often used to express a
final verdict. "What do you want me to do with that 80-meg
3. Used of processes as well as files; nuke is a frequent
verbal alias for "kill -9" on Unix.
trash the operating system, including the FAT (the in-core
copy of the disk block chaining information). This can
utterly scramble attached disks, which are then said to have
been "nuked". This term is also used of analogous lossages on
Macintoshes and other micros without memory protection.