insulation
Americannoun
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material used for insulating.
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the act of insulating.
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the state of being insulated.
noun
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
Standing up as debris fell around him, he waited for the dust and insulation to settle.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
That year, Abdi, now 41, arrived in the US, settled in a small town in Maine, got a job installing insulation and became a US citizen.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
The 5-4 ruling reaffirmed the central bank’s longstanding insulation from presidential control.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
As this insulation breaks down, patients can develop neurological problems such as difficulty walking or vision impairment.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 29, 2026
The sound drowned out everything else, the walls were insulation for the next few hours, there was no need to talk or think.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
Almost all of the external wall insulations delivered under the scheme – 98% – required repairs, according to the a report by the National Audit Office.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
Recycled IT equipment and household goods make up the building's cladding, signs are from used coffee beans and insulations is provided by sheep wool.
From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2021
Choosing a winter jacket may seem straightforward, but there’s an almost dizzying array of styles, fabrics and insulations to sift through.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 6, 2021
These special foams expand with less force than some regular expanding foam insulations.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 3, 2010
One of the peculiarities of the life of these ascendant families of the industrial class to which wealth has come, is its tremendous insulations.
From The New Machiavelli by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
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.
