ionizing radiation

American

noun

Physics.

any radiation, as a stream of alpha particles or x-rays, that produces ionization as it passes through a medium.

ionizing radiation British

noun

electromagnetic or corpuscular radiation that is able to cause ionization

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ionizing radiation

First recorded in 1900–05

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.

MRI did what X-rays couldn't do: See soft tissue without using ionizing radiation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

"Did the sudden environmental shift select for species, or even individuals within a species, that are naturally more resistant to ionizing radiation?"

From Science Daily • Mar. 5, 2024

Portable X-ray equipment works in the same way as the big, fixed machines in radiology departments in hospitals - the image is created by a targeted burst of ionizing radiation.

From BBC • Jan. 7, 2024

The male mosquitos are then sterilized by being exposed to ionizing radiation at the International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 28, 2023

Remember how ionizing radiation breaks apart the bonds in molecules?

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023