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

Ultrasound is non-invasive, does not use ionizing radiation and has no known harmful effects.

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025

The 'ultrasound-photoacoustic dual-modal imaging system' combines molecular imaging contrast with ultrasound imaging, and it can visualize molecular and structural information inside the body in real-time without any ionizing radiation.

From Science Daily • Mar. 11, 2024

But human skin partly blocks ionizing radiation, Richmond says.

From Scientific American • Jun. 23, 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