insulation
Americannoun
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Also called: insulant. material used to insulate a body, device, or region
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the act or process of insulating
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of insulation
Explanation
Insulation is the process of keeping heat, sound, or electricity from spreading. It's also the material used to do so. If you can hear your neighbor snoring at night, you might need better sound insulation. Your thermos of hot chocolate stays warm when it's freezing outside because the thermos provides insulation. Similarly, the insulation in an ice chest keeps your sodas and food cool at the beach, even when you're being scorched by the sun. Insulation can also refer to a state of being detached or isolated. If you stay at home and avoid TV, the internet, and phone calls, you are in a state of insulation.
Vocabulary lists containing insulation
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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Physical Science - Energy - Introductory
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Physics - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Insulation from the global natural-gas shock benefits not just household bill payers but also manufacturers of everything from steel and plastics to fertilizer and corrugated boxes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026
The damage also applies to about a third of homes which had internal insulation installed under the ECO4 scheme and the Great British Insulation Scheme, available to residents in England, Scotland and Wales.
From BBC • Nov. 13, 2025
Some households can get free or cheaper insulation through the Great British Insulation Scheme, the government advised.
From BBC • Mar. 14, 2024
Insulation, wiring, mud, boulders and downed power lines made up the mixture of debris, along with what’s left of a brown baby grand piano.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2024
Insulation of the hands by the use of rubber gloves, and extreme care, are the means by which those who are called "linemen"—a new industry—protect themselves in their occupation.
From Steam, Steel and Electricity by Steele, James W.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
