reactor

[ ree-ak-ter ]

/ riˈæk tər /

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See synonyms for reactor on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person or thing that reacts or undergoes reaction.

Electricity. a device whose primary purpose is to introduce reactance into a circuit.

Immunology, Veterinary Medicine. a patient or animal that reacts positively towards a foreign material.

Physics. nuclear reactor.

Chemistry. (especially in industry) a large container, as a vat, for processes in which the substances involved undergo a chemical reaction.

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Origin of reactor

First recorded in 1885–90; 1940–45 for def. 4; react + -or²

OTHER WORDS FROM reactor

non·re·ac·tor, noun

Words nearby reactor

reactive component, reactive depression, reactive schizophrenia, reactive thrust, reactivity, reactor, reactor vessel, read, readability, readable, read-across

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

How to use reactor in a sentence

This is how the Nuclear Navy builds the appropriate level of knowledge and right temperament to deal with shipboard reactor operations.
How a Nuclear Submarine Officer Learned to Live in Tight Quarters - Issue 94: Evolving|Steve Weiner|December 30, 2020|Nautilus
The study also finds that, contrary to what those in the industry seem to expect, focusing on standardized designs doesn't really help matters, as costs continued to grow as more of a given reactor design was built.
Why are nuclear plants so expensive? Safety’s only part of the story|John Timmer|November 21, 2020|Ars Technica
The government says it wants to see small-scale reactors built, too.
Facing an epic recession, Britain unveils its ‘green industrial revolution’ to jumpstart economy, create jobs|Bernhard Warner|November 18, 2020|Fortune
Typically, a nuclear plant is either producing or not, but the modular design allows the Carbon Free Power Project to shut individual reactors off if demand is low.
First major modular nuclear project having difficulty retaining backers|John Timmer|November 7, 2020|Ars Technica

One of the companies building sodium-cooled systems, Terrapower, makes reactors that can also run on spent or depleted uranium.
Finding homes for the waste that will (probably) outlive humanity|Katie McLean|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review
In 1981, while the world condemned us, we sent our air force to destroy the Osirak reactor Saddam Hussein was building in Iraq.
Why You Should Blame Iran For The Gaza Conflict|Naftali Bennett|July 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Iran is suspected to have aided in the funding of that reactor.
Iran and North Korea: The Nuclear 'Axis of Resistance'|Josh Rogin, Eli Lake|January 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It prohibits the manufacture of new centrifuges and work on the Arak reactor.
Obama and the Munich Katrinas|Michael Tomasky|November 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Uranium enrichment makes what can be power reactor fuel but also the explosive core of atom bombs.
What Obama and Rouhani Want From Geneva|Michael Adler|October 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The reactor has the potential to produce weapons grade plutonium.
A Very Israeli Linkage: Iran's Bomb and Peace With the Palestinians|Nadav Eyal|September 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And what of those atoms disintegrating while others are still being created in the reactor?
The Atomic Fingerprint|Bernard Keisch
This will be true no matter where in the reactor or for how long the irradiation took place.
The Atomic Fingerprint|Bernard Keisch
It was the most logical, easiest, and simplest way for a D-H reactor to go off the deep end.
The Bramble Bush|Gordon Randall Garrett
He walked over to it and stepped into the small chamber that led to the inner reactor room.
The Bramble Bush|Gordon Randall Garrett
The trouble with the Ditmars-Horst reactor was that it lacked any automatic negative-feedback system.
The Bramble Bush|Gordon Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for reactor

reactor

/ (rɪˈæktə) /

noun

chem a substance, such as a reagent, that undergoes a reaction

short for nuclear reactor

a vessel, esp one in industrial use, in which a chemical reaction takes place

a coil of low resistance and high inductance that introduces reactance into a circuit

med a person sensitive to a particular drug or agent

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

reactor

Origin of reactor

OTHER WORDS FROM reactor

Words nearby reactor

Words related to reactor

How to use reactor in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for reactor