nuke /n[y]ook/ vt.
[common] 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 filesystem." Never
used for accidental deletion; contrast blow away. 2. Syn. 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 wallpaper file?" "Nuke it." 3. Used of
processes as well as files; nuke is a frequent verbal alias for
kill -9 on Unix. 4. On IBM PCs, a bug that results
in fandango on core
can 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.