Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Bible In the book of Revelation, the place of the gathering of armies for the final battle before the end of the world.
  • noun The battle involving these armies.
  • noun A decisive or catastrophic conflict.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun the final, decisive battle between the forces of good and evil, as foretold in the Apocolypse of Saint John. Also, the site of that battle. Used metaphorically for a vast and decisive conflict, attended by cataclysmic destruction.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun Christianity, Islam The site of a prophesied final battle between the forces of good and evil.
  • proper noun The scene of a decisive conflict on a great scale.
  • proper noun Any great and crucial conflict.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any catastrophically destructive battle
  • noun (New Testament) the scene of the final battle between the kings of the Earth at the end of the world

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin Armagedōn, from Greek, from Hebrew har məgiddô, the mountain region of Megiddo : har, mountain; see hrr in Semitic roots + məgiddô, Megiddo.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Hebrew הר מגידו (har megiddo), used in Revelation 16:16, referring to Mount Megiddo, the place of the last battle at the Last Judgment.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Armageddon.

Examples

  • White House budget director Jacob Lew used the word "Armageddon" three times on Sunday talk shows, saying a default could lead to a financial crisis that would send interest rates rising and drive up the cost of credit for all Americans.

    Senate Debt Plan Promises Months of Budget Wrangling Janet Hook 2011

  • I also hate it when Ramon, Herbal Tattooist to the Stars, has misspelled the word "Armageddon."

    Hey, Buddy, Keep Your Shirt On! Joe Queenan 2011

  • He used the word Armageddon, of which I had only previously heard mention in the Bible.

    MY EARLY LIFE WINSTON CHURCHILL 2003

  • He used the word Armageddon, of which I had only previously heard mention in the Bible.

    MY EARLY LIFE WINSTON CHURCHILL 2003

  • He used the word Armageddon, of which I had only previously heard mention in the Bible.

    MY EARLY LIFE WINSTON CHURCHILL 2003

  • The destruction envisioned by an impact of such an object has brought a new undertone to the word Armageddon.

    WalesOnline - Home WalesOnline 2012

  • Mr. Lew on Sunday used the word "Armageddon" three times, saying a default could lead to a calamitous financial crisis that would send interest rates rising and drive up the cost of credit for all Americans.

    WSJ.com: What's News US 2011

  • Fawcett survived public-school canings, military academy tortures and the Battle of the Somme, which he called Armageddon, forging himself into a "Nietzschean explorer."

    The Nation: Top Stories 2009

  • In addition, "Frank Poole" (the movie astronaut killed by HAL 9000) and "Harry Stamper" (Bruce Willis in "Armageddon") are still unwavering in their support of Mike as well.

    NASA Needs Wil Wheaton - NASA Watch 2009

  • In addition, "Frank Poole" (the movie astronaut killed by HAL 9000) and "Harry Stamper" (Bruce Willis in "Armageddon") are still unwavering in their support of Mike as well.

    NASA Watch: January 2009 Archives 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.