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Fallout

 - 4 dictionary results

fall⋅out

  [fawl-out]
Use Fallout in a Sentence
–noun
1. the settling to the ground of airborne particles ejected into the atmosphere from the earth by explosions, eruptions, forest fires, etc., esp. such settling from nuclear explosions (radioactive fallout). Compare rainout.
2. the particles themselves. Compare rainout.
3. an unexpected or incidental effect, outcome, or product: the psychological fallout of being obese.
4. effects; results: emotional fallout from a divorce.
Also, fall-out.

Origin:
1945–50; n. use of v. phrase fall out
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Fallout
fall·out   (fôl'out')   
n.  

    1. The slow descent of minute particles of debris in the atmosphere following an explosion, especially the descent of radioactive debris after a nuclear explosion.

    2. The particles that descend in this fashion.

  2. An incidental result or side effect: "Other social trends also have psychiatric fallout, and the people who suffer can't afford treatment" (Martha Farnsworth Riche).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
fallout

  1. n.
    the results of something; the flackfrom something. : The fallout from this afternoon's meeting was not as serious as some expected.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: fall·out
Pronunciation: 'fo-"laut
Function: noun
1 : the often radioactive particles stirred up by or resulting from a nuclearexplosion and descending through the atmosphere; also : other polluting particles (as volcanic ash) descending likewise
2 : descent (as of fallout) through theatmosphere
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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