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

Grown by Diego Bermudez at Finca El Paraíso in Colombia, and named after his daughter, the Geisha varietal is produced using bio-reactors in the fermentation process, which results in cleaner flavors. —Bahar Anooshahr, AZCentral.com, 18 Oct. 2025

The plan involves using DeepMind’s specialized, open-source software known as Torax to model the plasma inside the SPARC reactor, which is located at CFS headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts. —Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2025

Aalo Atomics, one of the companies participating in the program, will be building its product – a 10 megawatt reactor – on land at the Idaho National Laboratory. —Christian Datoc, The Washington Examiner, 17 Oct. 2025

Here's a breakdown of the process, described in a paper appearing in Nature Catalysis: First, electricity is used in a special reactor to acidify natural seawater. —Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing reactor

• atomic reactor
• hyper-reactor
• nuclear reactor

Rhymes for reactor

• attractor
• cofactor
• compactor
• contactor
• contractor
• distractor
• extractor
• impactor
• protractor
• redactor
• refractor
• retractor

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)