circuit breaker

noun
1.
Electricity. Also called breaker. a device for interrupting an electric circuit to prevent excessive current, as that caused by a short circuit, from damaging the apparatus in the circuit or from causing a fire.
2.
any property-tax relief measure that reduces or limits property taxes for certain eligible taxpayers, as those with low income or the elderly.

Origin:
1870–75, Americanism

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
circuit breaker
 
n
Compare fuse Sometimes shortened to: breaker a device that under abnormal conditions, such as a short circuit, interrupts the flow of current in an electrical circuit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Circuit breaker is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
circuit breaker  
A switch that automatically interrupts the flow of electric current if the current exceeds a preset limit, measured in amperes. Circuit breakers are used most often as a safety precaution where excessive current through a circuit could be hazardous. Unlike fuses, they can usually be reset and reused.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Make sure the wiring and devices used in the circuit are connected to a circuit
  breaker or fuse of the proper size.
By the time a fuse or circuit breaker opens a circuit to defuse these
  conditions, a fire may already have begun.
People eligible for the circuit breaker program should not be gambling.
Turn off the circuit breaker on the shore hookup box and connect the electrical
  power cord to the box.
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