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Definition of "nuclear reactor" [nuclear reactor]

  • Any of several devices in which a chain reaction is initiated and controlled, with the resulting heat typically used for power generation and the neutrons and fission products used for military, experimental, and medical purposes. Also called atomic reactor. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "nuclear reactor" in a sentence
  • "Alex supposed that Brobdingnagians had an innate talent for that kind of engineering; or maybe it was just that they could work on a nuclear reactor as casually as a human could tinker with an aircar engine, and thus acquired a knack for it."
  • ""The market is temporarily relieved that alternative fuel costs will be held down if local governments give in to Kan's request for nuclear reactor restarts," said Naoki Fujiwara, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management."
  • "The Dolphin's nuclear reactor had to be somewhere."
Words like "nuclear reactor"
chain reactor
fast reactor
fusion reactor
gas-cooled reactor
liquid metal reactor
nuclear reactor core
pile reactor