reactor

noun

re·​ac·​tor rē-ˈak-tər 

1

: one that reacts

2

: a device (such as a coil, winding, or conductor of small resistance) used to introduce reactance into an alternating-current circuit

3

a

: a vat for an industrial chemical reaction

b

: a device for the controlled release of nuclear energy (as for producing heat)

Examples of reactor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Each of the two new reactors can power 500,000 homes and businesses without releasing any carbon. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 3 June 2024

The sun is a particle accelerator, a ball of plasma, a self-sustaining thermonuclear reactor, a gale of mass and energy, the source of all life. —Rebecca Boyle, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2024

In the late 1970s, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) promoted coordinated research by many countries, focusing not only on fusion reactor technology but also on its potential environmental impact and possible safety questions. —Mariana Mazzucato, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2023

Option 2: The reactor cores have been removed, and the reactor buildings have been dismantled and transported to a radioactive waste storage facility. —Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 31 Oct. 2011

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing reactor

• atomic reactor
• hyper-reactor
• nuclear reactor

Kids Definition

reactor

noun

re·​ac·​tor rē-ˈak-tər 

1

: one that reacts

2

: a device for the controlled release of nuclear energy (as for producing heat)

Medical Definition

reactor

noun

re·​ac·​tor rē-ˈak-tər 

1

: one that reacts: as

a

: a chemical reagent

b

: an individual reacting to a stimulus

c

: an individual reacting positively to a foreign substance (as in a test for disease)

reactors to tuberculin

2

a

: a piece of equipment in which a chemical reaction and especially an industrial chemical reaction is carried out

b

: a device for the controlled release of nuclear energy (as for producing heat)