meltdown
pronunciation
How to pronounce meltdown in British English:
UK [ˈmeltdaʊn]
How to pronounce meltdown in American English:
US [ˈmeltdaʊn]
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- Noun:
- severe overheating of the core of a nuclear reactor resulting in the core melting and radiation escaping
- a disaster comparable to a nuclear meltdown
Word Origin
- meltdown (n.)
- by 1937 in the ice-cream industry; by 1956 in reference to a nuclear reactor, from verbal phrase, from melt (v.) + down (adv.). Metaphoric extension since 1979.
Example
- 1. The risk of a reactor meltdown there is awful enough .
- 2. During that period it became clear that a partial meltdown had taken place in at least one of the six reactors .
- 3. A catastrophic meltdown is a sombre possibility .
- 4. The united states hasn 't had a meltdown since at any of its more than 100 reactors .
- 5. If the cores cannot be cooled sufficiently , a total meltdown could ensue , exposing the fuel rods to the outside air and further spreading radiation .