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

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See Examples For:

ionizing radiation

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

Indeed, these researchers initially came together to develop the tools needed to understand the effect of prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation on the chemicals found in nuclear waste.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 15, 2024

Tritium is a β-radiation emitter — albeit a weak one — meaning that it emits ionizing radiation that can damage DNA.

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