Source : WordNet®

nuke
     n : the warhead of a missile designed to deliver an atom bomb
         [syn: {atomic warhead}, {nuclear warhead}, {thermonuclear
         warhead}]
     v 1: strike at with firepower or bombs; "zap the enemy" [syn: {atomize},
           {atomise}, {zap}]
     2: bomb with atomic weapons [syn: {atom-bomb}]
     3: cook or heat in a microwave oven; "You can microwave the
        left-overs" [syn: {microwave}, {micro-cook}, {zap}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

nuke
     
        /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
        accidental deletion.  Opposite: {blow away}.
     
        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
        {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.
     
        [{Jargon File}]