nuclear fuel

American  

[noo-klee-er fyoo-uhl, nyoo-] / ˈnu kli ər ˈfyu əl, ˈnyu- /

noun

1. Physics. fissile or fertile material that undergoes fission in a nuclear reactor.

2. any light element, as hydrogen or helium, that undergoes fusion and gives off energy within the interior of stars.

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nuclear fuel British  

noun

1. a fuel that provides nuclear energy, used in nuclear power stations, nuclear submarines, etc

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Pronunciation

See nuclear ( def. ).

Etymology

Origin of nuclear fuel

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Ahead of the meeting, Kyiv officials said a Russian drone had hit a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel near the Chornobyl nuclear plant in the north of Ukraine.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

The Russian strike on Chornobyl "partially destroyed" a spent nuclear fuel storage building, according to Ukraine's state-owned nuclear operator, Enerhoatom.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

His voice echoed in the damp tunnel where the spent nuclear fuel will be buried in holes drilled into the bedrock, where it will remain harmfully radioactive for thousands of years.

From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026

The U.S. wants Iran to halt its enrichment of nuclear fuel for up to 20 years and turn over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

The number of black holes, however, is almost certainly very much higher; in the long history of the universe, many stars must have burned all their nuclear fuel and have had to collapse.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking