Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

fuse2

Syllabification: (fuse)
(also fuze)
Translate fuse | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of fuse

noun

  • a length of material along which a small flame moves to explode a bomb or firework, meanwhile allowing time for those who light it to move to a safe distance.
  • a device in a bomb, shell, or mine that makes it explode on impact, after an interval, at set distance from the target, or when subjected to magnetic or vibratory stimulation.

verb

[with object]
  • fit a fuse to (a bomb, shell, or mine):the bomb was fused to go off during a charity performance

Phrases

light the (or a) fuse

set something tense or exciting in motion:the event lit the fuse for the revolution

a short fuse

a tendency to lose one’s temper quickly:watch your tongue—he’s got a very short fuse
(on a short fuse) likely to lose one’s temper or explode.

Derivatives

fuseless

adjective

Origin:

mid 17th century: from Italian fuso, from Latin fusus 'spindle'

fuse in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of fuse in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Word of the day

offing

/ ˈôfiNG /
noun
the more distant part of the sea in view …