nuclear fuel

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noun

Physics. fissile or fertile material that undergoes fission in a nuclear reactor.

any light element, as hydrogen or helium, that undergoes fusion and gives off energy within the interior of stars.

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Origin of nuclear fuel

First recorded in 1945–50

Words nearby nuclear fuel

nuclear energy, nuclear envelope, nuclear family, nuclear fission, nuclear-free zone, nuclear fuel, nuclear fusion, nuclearism, nuclear isomer, nuclearize, nuclear magnetic resonance

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nuclear fuel in a sentence

Officials estimate if they could recycle the spent uranium fuel — similar to the nuclear fuel reprocessing program in France — only one-fifth of the waste at San Onofre would be there.
Morning Report: Surprise! Council President Booted|Voice of San Diego|December 7, 2021|Voice of San Diego
And, well, because a byproduct of nuclear fuel is plutonium, which can be mixed with other stuff and used again in a nuclear reactor, but also can be used to make nuclear weapons.
Environment Report: Why San Diego Can’t Recycle Its Nuclear Waste|MacKenzie Elmer|December 7, 2021|Voice of San Diego
Other countries recycle their nuclear fuel, like France which gets about 72 percent of its electricity from nuclear power.
Environment Report: Why San Diego Can’t Recycle Its Nuclear Waste|MacKenzie Elmer|December 7, 2021|Voice of San Diego
At the new Holtec facility, spent nuclear fuel would be shipped in from all over the country and put into interim storage.
Finding homes for the waste that will (probably) outlive humanity|Katie McLean|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review

So SONGS is keeping the rods of spent nuclear fuel in storage holes buried along the seismically active California coastline.
Finding homes for the waste that will (probably) outlive humanity|Katie McLean|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review
But I think Steve Austin has to team up with a Japanese holdout to stop a nuclear bomb from going off or something.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But Sanders, a representative of the Northeastern vacation state of Vermont, also opposes fossil fuel development.
Time to Bring Back the Truman Democrats|Joel Kotkin|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He used negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program as an example.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Dec 21|PunditFact.com|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Gordon G. Chang is a Forbes.com columnist and the author of Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World.
U.S. Should Make North Korea Pay for Sony Hack|Gordon G. Chang|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Binding the resolution of my case to progress in the nuclear negotiations is profoundly unjust.
An American Marine in Iran’s Prisons Goes on Hunger Strike|IranWire|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The hills in sight, however, are very considerably wooded, and wood is apparently the common fuel.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
Upon careful inspection, however, delicate nuclear bands connecting the parts can usually be seen.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Adequate, of course; no sense in taking chances with lives that cost so much fuel to bring here.
Fee of the Frontier|Horace Brown Fyfe
She arrived in Liverpool on the 22d June, having consumed her fuel in ten days.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
The mountains are covered with wood fit for fuel, mining, architecture, and machinery.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick

British Dictionary definitions for nuclear fuel

nuclear fuel

noun

a fuel that provides nuclear energy, used in nuclear power stations, nuclear submarines, etc

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