fuse

fuse

See also: fusé

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: fyo͞oz, IPA^(key): /fjuːz/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: fuse
• Rhymes: -uːz

Etymology 1

From Italian fuso and French fusée, from Latin fūsus (“spindle”).

Noun

fuse (plural fuses)

1. A cord that, when lit, conveys the fire to some explosive device.
   • 1962 October, “Talking of Trains: Passed to you, Mr. Macmillan”, in Modern Railways, page 220:

     The Government, having lit the fuse, is not going to be allowed to flee the explosion.

2. (manufacturing, mining, military) The mechanism that ignites the charge in an explosive device; a detonator.

   Synonym: fuze

3. (figurative) A tendency to lose one's temper.

   When talking about being laid off, he has a short fuse.

4. A friction match for smokers' use, having a bulbous head which when ignited is not easily blown out even in a gale of wind.
5. A kind of match made of paper impregnated with niter and having the usual igniting tip.

Usage notes

Professional publications about explosives and munitions distinguish the fuse and fuze spellings. The latter is preferred for the sense “mechanism that ignites the charge”.

Derived terms

• Bickford fuse
• concussion fuse
• fuse box
• fuse plug
• percussion fuse
• proximity fuse
• resettable fuse
• safety fuse
• short fuse

 

Translations

cord

Armenian: պատրույգ (hy) (patruyg) Bashkir: филтә (filtä) Bulgarian: фити́л m (fitíl) Catalan: metxa (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 導火線／导火线 (zh) (dǎohuǒxiàn), 導火索／导火索 (zh) (dǎohuǒsuǒ), 導爆線／导爆线 (zh) (dǎobàoxiàn) Czech: doutnák (cs) m Dutch: lont (nl) m or f Esperanto: meĉo Faroese: fjús n, krúttráður m Finnish: sytytyslanka (fi) French: cordeau (fr) m, mèche (fr) f German: Zündschnur (de) f Greek: θρυαλλίδα (el) f (thryallída), φιτίλι (el) n (fitíli) Hungarian: gyújtózsinór (hu), kanóc (hu) Irish: fiús m, aidhnín m Italian: miccia (it) f Japanese: 導火線 (ja) (どうかせん, dōkasen) Korean: 도화선 (dohwaseon) Malay: sumbu (ms) Maori: wiki Norwegian: lunte c Occitan: meca (oc) f Ottoman Turkish: فتیل‎ (fitil) Polish: lont (pl) m Portuguese: pavio (pt), rastilho (pt) m Russian: фити́ль (ru) m (fitílʹ), огнепрово́дный шнур m (ogneprovódnyj šnur) Serbo-Croatian: fìtīlj (sh) m Spanish: mecha (es) f Swedish: stubin (sv), stubintråd (sv) Thai: ชนวน (th) (chánuan) Turkish: fitil (tr)

device igniting charge

Bulgarian: запа́лка (bg) f (zapálka) Catalan: espoleta f Chinese: Mandarin: 導火線／导火线 (zh) (dǎohuǒxiàn), 信管 (zh) (xìnguǎn) Czech: doutnák (cs) m Dutch: lont (nl) Estonian: sütik Finnish: sytytin (fi) French: détonateur (fr) m German: Zünder (de) m Greek: θρυαλλίδα (el) f (thryallída), εμπύρευμα (el) n (empýrevma) Hungarian: gyutacs (hu) Icelandic: kveikiþráður m Irish: aidhnín m, fiús m Italian: miccia (it) f, innesco (it) m, detonatore (it) m Japanese: 導火線 (ja) (どうかせん, dōkasen), 信管 (ja) (しんかん, shinkan) Malay: fius Maori: wiki Norwegian: tennsats m, fenghette c Occitan: detonator m, detonador m Polish: zapalnik (pl) m, bezpiecznik (pl) m Portuguese: pavio (pt) Russian: запа́л (ru) m (zapál), детона́тор (ru) m (detonátor) Serbo-Croatian: upàljāč (sh) m Spanish: espoleta f Swedish: tändrör (sv) Tagalog: tunawin Thai: ชนวน (th) (chánuan) Turkish: fünye (tr)

indicating tendency to lose temper

Catalan: corda (ca) f Finnish: pinna (fi) French: plomb (fr) m Hungarian: hirtelen harag, türelmetlenség, (have a short fuse): könnyen dühbe gurul, (have a short fuse): könnyen begurul

Verb

fuse (third-person singular simple present fuses, present participle fusing, simple past and past participle fused)

1. To furnish with or install a fuse to (an explosive device) (see Usage notes for noun above).

Derived terms

• re-fuse

Etymology 2

Back-formation from fusion (“to melt”), first to verbal sense, then noun.

Noun

fuse (plural fuses)

1. (electrical engineering) A device to prevent excessive overcurrent from overload or short circuit in an electrical circuit, containing a component that melts and interrupts the current when too high a load is passed through it.

Derived terms

• blow a fuse
• fusebox
• fuse wire

Translations

device preventing overloading of a circuit

Afrikaans: smeltdraad Basque: fusible Bulgarian: бушо́н (bg) m (bušón) Catalan: fusible (ca) m Chinese: 保險絲／保险丝 (zh) Cantonese: 灰士, 灰屎, 保險絲 (formal) Min Nan: 軟線 (zh-min-nan) (nńg-sòaⁿ) (Taiwan) Czech: pojistka (cs) f Danish: sikring c Dutch: zekering (nl) Faroese: sikring f Finnish: sulake (fi), varoke (fi) French: fusible (fr) m, plomb (fr) m German: Sicherung (de) f Greek: τηκτασφάλεια f (tiktasfáleia) Hungarian: biztosíték (hu), olvadóbiztosító Ido: fuzeblo (io) Indonesian: sekring (id) Irish: fiús m Italian: fusibile (it) m Japanese: ヒューズ (hyūzu) Korean: 퓨즈 (pyujeu) Lithuanian: saugiklis m Malay: fius Maori: waea katiara Norwegian: Bokmål: sikring (no) m Nynorsk: sikring f or m Persian: فیوز‎ (fa) (fyuz) Polish: bezpiecznik (pl) m Portuguese: fusível (pt) m Russian: пла́вкий предохрани́тель m (plávkij predoxranítelʹ), про́бка (ru) f (próbka) (colloquial) Serbo-Croatian: Roman: osigùrāč (sh) m Slovak: poistky pl, poistka f Sotho: lethose, fiyusi Spanish: fusible (es) m Swedish: säkring (sv), propp (sv) Thai: ฟิวส์ (th) (fiw) Welsh: ffiws f, ffiwsen f

Verb

fuse (third-person singular simple present fuses, present participle fusing, simple past and past participle fused)

1. (transitive) To liquify by heat; melt.
   • 1891, Dmitri Mendeleev, The Principles of Chemistry (1905) 3rd edition, Vol. 2, p.553, Tr. George Kamensky, of Основы химии (1867)

     Pure sodium is a lustrous metal... it fuses very easily at a temperature of 97°, and distils at a bright red heat (742°...)

2. (transitive) To melt together; to blend; to mix indistinguishably.
   • 1960 January, “Talking of Trains: N.& W.-Virginian merger”, in Trains Illustrated, page 9:

     Actually the New York, New Haven and Hartford, Boston & Maine, Maine Central, Bangor & Aroostook and Rutland Railroads already are doing so; if they are fused, they would have a combined route mileage of 5,269 and assets totalling £318 million, [...].

3. (intransitive) To melt together.
4. (transitive, electricity) To furnish with or install a fuse to protect a circuit against overcurrent.
5. (transitive, electricity, of a circuit) To have been protected against overcurrent by its fuse melting away, creating a gap in the wire, thus stopping the circuit from operating.

   When the bath overflowed, the downstairs lights fused, so we need a torch.

6. (organic chemistry) To form a bicyclic compound from two similar or different types of ring such that two or more atoms are shared between the resulting rings

Synonyms

• (mix indistinguishably): See also Thesaurus:homogenize
• (melt together): meld, smelt

Translations

transitive: to melt together

Bulgarian: стапям (bg) (stapjam) Catalan: fondre (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 熔化 (zh) (rónghuà), 混合 (zh) (hùnhé) Dutch: versmelten (nl) Finnish: sulauttaa French: fondre (fr) German: verschmelzen (de) Greek: τήκω (el) (tíko), λιώνω (el) (lióno) Hebrew: מִזֵּג‎ (he) (mizzég) Italian: fondere (it) Manx: co-lheie Polish: stopić (pl), połączyć (pl) Portuguese: fundir (pt) Russian: сплавля́ть (ru) impf (splavljátʹ) Spanish: fundir (es) Swedish: sammansmälta

intransitive: to melt together

Bulgarian: топя се (topja se) Catalan: fondre (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 熔化 (zh) (rónghuà), 混合 (zh) (hùnhé) Dutch: samensmelten (nl) Finnish: sulautua (fi) French: fusionner (fr) German: verschmelzen (de) Greek: τήκομαι (tíkomai) Hebrew: הִתְמַזֵּג‎ (hitmazzég) Italian: fondersi Manx: co-lheie Russian: сплавля́ться (ru) impf (splavljátʹsja) Swedish: sammansmälta

transitive: to furnish with a fuse

Chinese: Mandarin: 裝引信／装引信 (zhuāng xìnguǎn) Dutch: smelten (nl) German: absichern (de) Swedish: säkra (sv)

Anagrams

• feus

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French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Audio (CAN)

  (file)

• Homophones: fusent, fuses

Verb

fuse

1. inflection of fuser:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

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Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfu.ze/
• Rhymes: -uze
• Hyphenation: fù‧se

Adjective

fuse f pl

1. feminine plural of fuso

Participle

fuse f pl

1. feminine plural of fuso

Noun

fuse f pl

1. plural of fusa

Verb

fuse

1. third-person singular past historic of fondere

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Japanese

Romanization

fuse

1. Rōmaji transcription of ふせ

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Latin

Participle

fūse

1. vocative masculine singular of fūsus

Adverb

fūsē (comparative fūsius, superlative fūsissimē)

1. widely, extensively
2. in great detail
3. loosely, roughly

References

• “fuse”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “fuse”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• fuse in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette

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Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

fuse (present tense fuser, past tense fuste, past participle fust)

1. rush

Adjective

fuse

1. inflection of fus:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

References

• “fuse” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• fusa (verb) (a infinitive)

Verb

fuse (present tense fusar, past tense fusa, past participle fusa, passive infinitive fusast, present participle fusande, imperative fuse/fus)

1. rush

Adjective

fuse

1. inflection of fus:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural
2. neuter of fusen

References

• “fuse” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfu.se]

Verb

fuse

1. third-person singular simple perfect indicative of fi: he/she has been

Synonyms

• fu (informal)

Noun

fuse n

1. indefinite plural of fus

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Venetian

Verb

fuse

1. first-person singular imperfect subjunctive of èser
2. third-person singular imperfect subjunctive of èser
3. third-person plural imperfect subjunctive of èser