to heat food very quickly in a microwave oven, or (slang) to destroy something with a nuclear weapon.
Short for 'nuclear,' popularized in the 1980s when microwave ovens became common household appliances. The nuclear destruction meaning predates the microwave usage.
The microwave oven was invented by accident in 1945 when Percy Spencer, a Raytheon engineer, noticed a chocolate bar melted in his pocket while standing near a radar transmitter—he's the reason we can 'nuke' leftovers today.
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