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

The company has been working since 2013 to improve its technology, advancing from a coffee-cup-size reactor to one that can produce a ton or two of steel in a month. —Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 12 May 2025

Using a different type of fusion reaction combined with a new reactor design, TAE says that it's come up with a simpler, more efficient way to build a commercial reactor compared to a tokamak. —David Szondy may 10, New Atlas, 10 May 2025

The example of the Flamanville reactor speaks for itself. —Daniel Markind, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025

Left behind are parts of a reactor and big plastic containers of liquid meth, along with piles of perishable food, water and even a pair of jeans — signs that they’d been camped up in this area for several days. —Isobel Yeung, CNN Money, 2 May 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)