Phrase guide

heat sink

noun · 4 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

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An object, system or environment that absorbs and dissipates heat from objects in thermal contact (either direct or radiant) with it.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

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

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A place toward which the heat moves in a system.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

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

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A material capable of absorbing heat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

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

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a metal conductor specially designed to conduct (and radiate) heat

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: conductor, sink

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: радиатор (radiator) — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Catalan: dissipador tèrmic — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Chinese Mandarin: 散热片 — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Dutch: koellichaam — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Finnish: lämpönielu — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Finnish: jäähdytyselementti — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Finnish: jäähdytyssiili — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Finnish: jäähdytysripa — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Finnish: jäähdytyslevy — material capable of absorbing heat
  • French: dissipateur thermique — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Greek: ψύκτρα (psýktra) — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Italian: dissipatore — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Japanese: ヒートシンク (hīto shinku) — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kjøleribbe — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: kjøleribbe — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Portuguese: dissipador — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Portuguese: dissipador de calor — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Portuguese: radiador — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Russian: радиа́тор (radiátor) — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Spanish: disipador — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Spanish: disipador de calor — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Spanish: disipador térmico — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Spanish: disipador calórico — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Swedish: värmesänka — material capable of absorbing heat
  • Tagalog: tapunang-init — material capable of absorbing heat