fuse1
/fjuːz
/verb
1 [with object] Join or blend to form a single entity: intermarriage had fused the families into a large unit...
- Their forebrains are fused into a single indivisible whole, and they always die at birth.
- He only married you to fuse the families together.
- Instead, these two principles are fused into a single principle: the principle of conservation of mass-energy.
Synonyms
combine, amalgamate, put together, blend, merge, meld, mingle, intermix, intermingle, synthesize;
coalesce, compound, alloy, agglutinate;
unite, marry
rare admix, commingle, commix, interflow
1.1 [no object] (Of groups of atoms or cellular structures) join or coalesce: the two nuclei move together and fuse into one nucleus [with object]: attempts to fuse nuclei together...
- If conditions are right, protons and electrons then fuse into neutrons, creating a neutron star.
- When the atoms fuse into a plasma they release energy that can be harnessed to generate electricity.
- Gravity then squeezes them further, and the centers get still hotter, until the helium nuclei fuse into the nuclei of heavier atoms.
1.2Melt (a material or object) with intense heat so as to join it with something else: powdered glass was fused to a metal base [no object]: when fired in a special kiln, the metals fused on to the pot...
- You can't heat and fuse materials at about 2700 [degrees] F without a substantial fuel bill.
- There are different techniques of enamelling and one of them is when a vitreous coating is fused on to a metallic surface.
- The searing heat also fuses the soil into an impermeable layer that increases runoff and stream sedimentation and slows the forest's ability to recover.
Synonyms
bond, stick, join, attach, bind, integrate, weld, solder;
melt, smelt, dissolve, liquefy
2 [no object] British (Of an electrical appliance) stop working when a fuse melts: the crew were left in darkness after the lights fused...
- What it meant was that my heart's own electrical system had fused.
- But soon afterwards the cellar light fused and I couldn't face going down there in the dark and the wine rack was soon buried in cardboard boxes and broken chairs and all the other junk that cellars accumulate.
- That causes the lattice to vibrate and can ultimately induce changes in the microstructure that in turn cause a circuit to fail - the chip equivalent of a light-bulb filament fusing.
Synonyms
short-circuit, burn out, stop working, trip, break
informal go, blow
2.1 [with object] Cause (an electrical appliance) to stop working when a fuse melts: he will fuse the entire lighting system of the camp...
- If there are two ways to connect something, I will unerringly opt for the wrong one and fuse every electrical appliance in the street.
- It was a tiny candle but for some reason it had fused the church's electrics.
- Then, all of a sudden the sound just stopped - it turned out that the amplifier had fused some circuits.
3 [with object] Provide (a circuit or electrical appliance) with a fuse: (as adjective fused) a fused plug...
- Electronic toys should also carry this mark, and parents should ensure that full instructions accompany any item, and that plugs are properly wired and fused.
- If there are not adequate receptacles, a fused and grounded power strip should be used instead of an ordinary extension cord.
noun
A safety device consisting of a strip of wire that melts and breaks an electric circuit if the current exceeds a safe level.If the demand for electrical current exceeds the safety level, a fuse opens once and must be replaced to reconnect the circuit....
- Investigators found the inverters' internal fuses broken but not melted or burned, leading them to believe they were broken in flight.
- Product groups include passive and electromechanical components, capacitors, resistive products, ferrites, fuses, inductors and filters.
Synonyms
circuit breaker, trip switch, residual current device
Origin
Late 16th century: from Latin fus- 'poured, melted', from the verb fundere.
found from Middle English:
The word found ‘establish’ goes back to Latin fundare ‘to lay a base for’, from fundus ‘bottom, base’, source also of foundation (Late Middle English), founder (Middle English) ‘sink’, and fund (mid 17th century) from a secondary sense of fundus ‘landed property’; and profound (Middle English) ‘deep’. Found ‘melt and mould’ is from French fondre (source of the melted cheese fondue (late 19th century)), from Latin fundere ‘melt, pour’ (found also in fuse (late 16th century)), and dates from the early 16th century.
fuse2
/fjuːz/(North American also fuze)
noun
1A length of material along which a small flame moves to explode a bomb or firework, meanwhile allowing time for those who light it to move to a safe distance: a bomb on a short fuse...
- We are, perhaps literally, sitting on a bomb with a fuse of uncertain length.
- Lit at one end, the small amount of gunpowder in the core of the fuse burned slowly along the length of the cord that surrounded it.
- The Warrior saw that the Hangman's human bombs had lit their fuses of dynamite.
1.1A device in a bomb that controls the timing of the explosion.For instance, their Tellermine was fitted with screw sockets on the side and underneath to take various types of anti-lifting device, and anti-handling fuzes were issued....
- The fuze is a self-powered, microprocessor controlled device and contains a radio frequency radar.
- What he doesn't know, of course is that he is the bomb, complete with remotely controlled fuse hidden somewhere in the car.
verb [with object]
Fit a fuse to (a bomb, shell, or mine): the bomb was fused to go off during a charity performance...
- This round is fuzed with the M758 Point Detonating Self-Destruct fuze, developed and produced exclusively by Alliant Techsystems.
Phrases
light the (or a) fuse
have (or be on) a short fuse
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Italian fuso, from Latin fusus 'spindle'.