Standard Lemma guide

fuse

noun · verb · 22 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • fyo͞oz
  • /fjuːz/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • homophone: fuze
  • rhymes with -uːz
  • CMU ARPABET: F Y UW1 Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A wick or cord used to convey flame to gunpowder, a bomb, or similar explosive.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fusee, match

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An otherwise stable arbitrarily long repeating pattern that, when perturbed from one end, destructively carries that perturbation at a constant speed to the other end.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: cellular-automata, computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Alternative spelling of fuze, a detonator, any mechanism igniting an explosive substance or device.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative, proscribed, sometimes

Topics: business, government, manufacturing, military, mining, politics, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A tendency to lose one's temper.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Examples

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

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A kind of match for starting a fire:

A friction match for smokers' use, having a bulbous head which when ignited is not easily blown out even in a gale of wind.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fusee

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A kind of match for starting a fire:

A match made of paper impregnated with niter and having the usual igniting tip.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, electrical, electrical-engineering, electricity, electromagnetism, energy, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To furnish with a fuse, to install a fuse on.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

verb

Meaning 9

Alternative spelling of fuze, to equip with a detonator.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative, proscribed, sometimes

Topics: business, government, manufacturing, military, mining, politics, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

verb

Meaning 10

To liquify by heat; melt.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

verb

Meaning 11

To melt together; to blend; to mix indistinguishably.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

verb

Meaning 12

To melt together.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

13

verb

Meaning 13

To combine through nuclear fusion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: ergative

Topics: astronomy, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

14

verb

Meaning 14

To furnish with or install a fuse in (a circuit) to protect against overcurrent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Topics: business, electrical-engineering, electricity, electromagnetism, energy, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

15

verb

Meaning 15

To stop operating, having been protected against overcurrent by its fuse blowing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Topics: business, electrical-engineering, electricity, electromagnetism, energy, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

Examples

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

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

16

verb

Meaning 16

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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, organic-chemistry, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

17

noun

Meaning 17

any igniter that is used to initiate the burning of a propellant

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fuze, fusee, fuzee, primer, priming

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: lighter, light, igniter, ignitor

Narrower terms: detonating fuse, safety fuse, time-fuse

18

noun

Meaning 18

an electrical device that can interrupt the flow of electrical current when it is overloaded

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: electrical fuse, safety fuse

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: electrical device

Narrower terms: cartridge fuse, circuit breaker, breaker, plug fuse

19

verb

Meaning 19

mix together different elements

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The colors blend well

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blend, flux, mix, conflate, commingle, immix, coalesce, meld, combine, merge

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change integrity

Narrower terms: gauge, absorb, melt, meld, blend in, mix in, accrete, conjugate, admix, alloy, syncretize, syncretise

20

verb

Meaning 20

make liquid or plastic by heating

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The storm fused the electric mains

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: melt, run, melt down

21

verb

Meaning 21

become plastic or fluid or liquefied from heat

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The substances fused at a very high temperature

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: liquefy, flux, liquify

22

verb

Meaning 22

equip with a fuse; provide with a fuse

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: defuse

Broader terms: equip, fit, fit out, outfit

History

Etymology

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

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

Across languages

Translations

203 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: فَتِيل (fatīl) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Aragonese: mecha — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Armenian: պատրույգ (patruyg) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Azerbaijani: piltə — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Azerbaijani: fitil — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Bashkir: филтә (filtə) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Bulgarian: фити́л (fitíl) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Catalan: metxa — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Chinese Mandarin: 導火線 /导火线 (dǎohuǒxiàn) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Chinese Mandarin: 導火索 /导火索 (dǎohuǒsuǒ) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Chinese Mandarin: 引火線 /引火线 (yǐnhuǒxiàn) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Chinese Mandarin: 引線 /引线 (yǐnxiàn) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Czech: rozbuška — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Czech: doutnák — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Danish: lunte — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Dutch: lont — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Esperanto: meĉo — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Esperanto: brulŝnuro — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Faroese: fjús — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Faroese: krúttráður — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Finnish: sytytyslanka — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • French: cordeau — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • French: mèche — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • German: Zündschnur — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Greek: θρυαλλίδα (thryallída) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Greek: φιτίλι (fitíli) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Hungarian: gyújtózsinór — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Hungarian: kanóc — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Irish: fiús — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Irish: aidhnín — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Italian: miccia — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Japanese: 導火線 (dōkasen) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Korean: 도화선 (dohwaseon) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Malay: sumbu — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Māori: wiki — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Norwegian: lunte — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Occitan: meca — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Polish: lont — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Portuguese: pavio — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Portuguese: rastilho — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Russian: фити́ль (fitílʹ) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Russian: огнепрово́дный шнур (ogneprovódnyj šnur) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Serbo-Croatian: fìtīlj — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Spanish: mecha — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Swedish: stubin — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Swedish: stubintråd — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Thai: ชนวน (chánuan) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Turkish: fitil — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Ottoman Turkish: فتیل (fitil) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Ukrainian: запа́лювальний ґніт (zapáljuvalʹnyj gnit) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Ukrainian: запальни́й ґніт (zapalʹnýj gnit) — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Welsh: ffiws — wick or cord used to convey flame to an explosive
  • Bulgarian: запа́лка (zapálka) — detonator
  • Catalan: espoleta — detonator
  • Chinese Mandarin: 引信 (yǐnxìn) — detonator
  • Chinese Mandarin: 信管 (xìnguǎn) — detonator
  • Czech: rozbuška — detonator
  • Czech: roznětka — detonator
  • Danish: tændrør — detonator
  • Dutch: lont — detonator
  • Estonian: sütik — detonator
  • Finnish: sytytin — detonator
  • French: détonateur — detonator
  • German: Zünder — detonator
  • Greek: θρυαλλίδα (thryallída) — detonator
  • Greek: εμπύρευμα (empýrevma) — detonator
  • Hungarian: gyutacs — detonator
  • Icelandic: kveikiþráður — detonator
  • Irish: aidhnín — detonator
  • Irish: fiús — detonator
  • Italian: miccia — detonator
  • Italian: innesco — detonator
  • Italian: detonatore — detonator
  • Japanese: 信管 (shinkan) — detonator
  • Korean: 신관 (sin'gwan) — detonator
  • Macedonian: фитил (fitil) — detonator
  • Malay: fius — detonator
  • Māori: wiki — detonator
  • Norwegian: tennsats — detonator
  • Norwegian: fenghette — detonator
  • Occitan: detonator — detonator
  • Occitan: detonador — detonator
  • Polish: zapalnik — detonator
  • Polish: bezpiecznik — detonator
  • Portuguese: pavio — detonator
  • Russian: запа́л (zapál) — detonator
  • Russian: детона́тор (detonátor) — detonator
  • Serbo-Croatian: upàljāč — detonator
  • Spanish: espoleta — detonator
  • Spanish: espiga — detonator
  • Swedish: tändrör — detonator
  • Tagalog: tunawin — detonator
  • Thai: ชนวน (chánuan) — detonator
  • Turkish: fünye — detonator
  • Ukrainian: запа́л (zapál) — detonator
  • Welsh: ffiws — detonator
  • Catalan: corda — tendency to lose one's temper
  • Finnish: pinna — tendency to lose one's temper
  • French: plomb — tendency to lose one's temper
  • Hungarian: hirtelen harag — tendency to lose one's temper
  • Hungarian: türelmetlenség — tendency to lose one's temper
  • Hungarian: könnyen dühbe gurul — tendency to lose one's temper
  • Hungarian: könnyen begurul — tendency to lose one's temper
  • Swedish: stubin — tendency to lose one's temper
  • Afrikaans: smeltdraad — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Arabic: مُنْصَهِرَة (munṣahira) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Arabic: مصهر (miṣhar) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Basque: fusible — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Bulgarian: бушо́н (bušón) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Catalan: fusible — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Chinese Cantonese: 灰士 — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Chinese Cantonese: 灰屎 — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Chinese Cantonese: 保險絲 /保险丝 (bou2 him2 si1) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Chinese: 軟線 /软线 (zh-min-nan) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Chinese Mandarin: 保險絲 /保险丝 (bǎoxiǎnsī) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Czech: pojistka — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Danish: sikring — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Dutch: zekering — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Esperanto: fandogardilo — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Esperanto: fandaĵo — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Faroese: sikring — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Finnish: sulake — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Finnish: varoke — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • French: fusible — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • French: plomb — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • German: Sicherung — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Greek: τηκτασφάλεια (tiktasfáleia) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Hungarian: biztosíték — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Hungarian: olvadóbiztosító — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Ido: fuzeblo — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Indonesian: sekring — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Indonesian: pengaman lebur — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Irish: fiús — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Italian: fusibile — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Japanese: ヒューズ (hyūzu) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Korean: 퓨즈 (pyujeu) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Latvian: drošinātājs — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Lithuanian: saugiklis — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Malay: fius — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Māori: waea katiara — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Māori: katiara — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sikring — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sikring — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Persian: فیوز (fyuz) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Polish: bezpiecznik — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Portuguese: fusível — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Russian: пла́вкий предохрани́тель (plávkij predoxranítelʹ) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Russian: про́бка (próbka) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Serbo-Croatian: osigùrāč — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Slovak: poistky — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Slovak: poistka — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Sotho: lethose — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Sotho: fiyusi — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Spanish: fusible — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Spanish: fius — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Swedish: säkring — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Swedish: propp — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Thai: ฟิวส์ (fiw) — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Welsh: ffiws — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Welsh: ffiwsen — device preventing overload of a circuit
  • Bulgarian: стапям (stapjam) — transitive: to melt together
  • Catalan: fondre — transitive: to melt together
  • Chinese Mandarin: 熔化 (rónghuà) — transitive: to melt together
  • Chinese Mandarin: 混合 (hùnhé) — transitive: to melt together
  • Dutch: versmelten — transitive: to melt together
  • Finnish: sulauttaa — transitive: to melt together
  • French: fondre — transitive: to melt together
  • German: verschmelzen — transitive: to melt together
  • Greek: τήκω (tíko) — transitive: to melt together
  • Greek: λιώνω (lióno) — transitive: to melt together
  • Hebrew: מִזֵּג (mizzég) — transitive: to melt together
  • Italian: fondere — transitive: to melt together
  • Manx: co-lheie — transitive: to melt together
  • Polish: stopić — transitive: to melt together
  • Polish: połączyć — transitive: to melt together
  • Portuguese: fundir — transitive: to melt together
  • Russian: сплавля́ть (splavljátʹ) — transitive: to melt together
  • Spanish: fundir — transitive: to melt together
  • Spanish: fusionar — transitive: to melt together
  • Swedish: sammansmälta — transitive: to melt together
  • Bulgarian: топя се (topja se) — intransitive: to melt together
  • Catalan: fondre — intransitive: to melt together
  • Chinese Mandarin: 熔化 (rónghuà) — intransitive: to melt together
  • Chinese Mandarin: 混合 (hùnhé) — intransitive: to melt together
  • Dutch: samensmelten — intransitive: to melt together
  • Finnish: sulautua — intransitive: to melt together
  • French: fusionner — intransitive: to melt together
  • German: verschmelzen — intransitive: to melt together
  • Greek: τήκομαι (tíkomai) — intransitive: to melt together
  • Hebrew: הִתְמַזֵּג (hitmazzég) — intransitive: to melt together
  • Italian: fondersi — intransitive: to melt together
  • Manx: co-lheie — intransitive: to melt together
  • Russian: сплавля́ться (splavljátʹsja) — intransitive: to melt together
  • Russian: слива́ться (slivátʹsja) — intransitive: to melt together
  • Russian: сли́ться (slítʹsja) — intransitive: to melt together
  • Spanish: fusionarse — intransitive: to melt together
  • Spanish: fundir — intransitive: to melt together
  • Swedish: sammansmälta — intransitive: to melt together
  • Chinese Mandarin: 裝引信 /装引信 (zhuāng xìnguǎn) — transitive: to furnish with a fuse
  • Dutch: smelten — transitive: to furnish with a fuse
  • German: absichern — transitive: to furnish with a fuse
  • Russian: предохранять (predoxranjatʹ) — transitive: to furnish with a fuse
  • Swedish: säkra — transitive: to furnish with a fuse