containment

[kuhn-teyn-muhnt]

noun

1. the act or condition of containing.

2. an act or policy of restricting the territorial growth or ideological influence of another, especially a hostile nation.

3. an act or policy of limiting the expansion or spread of a natural disaster, contagious disease, or other dangerous thing: Local farmers notified authorities of sick and dying birds more quickly than the previous year, ensuring quick containment of infection on the farm.

   Containment of the wildfire reached nearly 40% before powerful winds carried embers over the perimeter, reducing containment.

   Local farmers notified authorities of sick and dying birds more quickly than the previous year, ensuring quick containment of infection on the farm.

4. (in a nuclear power plant) an enclosure completely surrounding a nuclear reactor, designed to prevent the release of radioactive material in the event of an accident.

containment

/ kənˈteɪnmənt /

noun

1. the act or condition of containing, esp of restraining the ideological or political power of a hostile country or the operations of a hostile military force

2. (from 1947 to the mid-1970s) a principle of US foreign policy that sought to prevent the expansion of Communist power

3. Also called: confinement. physics the process of preventing the plasma in a controlled thermonuclear reactor from reaching the walls of the reaction vessel, usually by confining it within a configuration of magnetic fields See magnetic bottle

containment

1. A policy aimed at controlling the spread of communism around the world, developed in the administration of President Harry S. Truman. The formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 was an important step in the development of containment.

Word History and Origins

Origin of containment¹

First recorded in 1645–55; contain + -ment

Example Sentences

Last year, the Indian government set a March 2026 deadline to end the insurgency and launched intensified security operations under its "ruthless" containment strategy.

Read more on BBC

Key to managing this is employing what Ogundehin terms "containment" - dedicating set spaces for objects, rather than spreading them endlessly throughout your home.

Read more on BBC

Incarcerated firefighters don’t wield hoses, but clear brush and dig containment lines while working on front-line hand crews and do work such as cooking and laundry to keep fire camps running.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Firefighters had anticipated that the blaze would eventually move in this direction and reiterated that the main body of the fire remained inside primary containment lines and that things were still going as planned.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Flames have reached the southernmost point of the well-traveled McKinley Grove Road, which is being used “as a major containment feature,” she said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• authority 
• curb 
• discipline 
• domination 
• force 
• government 
• jurisdiction 
• management 
• oversight 
• regulation 
• restraint 
• restriction 
• rule 
• supervision