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fission

 - 5 dictionary results

fis⋅sion

  [fish-uhn]
Use fission in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act of cleaving or splitting into parts.
2. Also called nuclear fission. Physics. the splitting of the nucleus of an atom into nuclei of lighter atoms, accompanied by the release of energy. Compare fusion (def. 4).
3. Biology. the division of an organism into new organisms as a process of reproduction.
–verb (used without object)
4. Physics. to undergo fission.
–verb (used with object)
5. Physics. to cause to undergo fission.
Origin:
1835–45; < L fissiōn- (s. of fissiō) a splitting, dividing, equiv. to fiss(us) divided (see fissi- ) + -iōn- -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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fis·sion   (fĭsh'ən)   


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n.  

  1. The act or process of splitting into parts.

  2. A nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus, especially a heavy nucleus such as an isotope of uranium, splits into fragments, usually two fragments of comparable mass, releasing from 100 million to several hundred million electron volts of energy.

  3. Biology An asexual reproductive process in which a unicellular organism divides into two or more independently maturing daughter cells.

v.   fis·sioned, fis·sion·ing, fis·sions

v.   tr.
To cause (an atom) to undergo fission.
v.   intr.
To undergo fission.

[Latin fissiō, fissiōn-, a cleaving, from fissus, split; see fissi-.]
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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Word Origin & History

fission 
1841, "division of a cell or organism," from L. fissionem (nom. fissio) "a breaking up, cleaving," from root of findere "to split" (see fissure). Cognate with O.E. bitan "to bite." Nuclear physics sense is 1939.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: fis·sion
Pronunciation: 'fish-&n also 'fizh-
Function: noun
1 : a method of reproduction in which a living cell or bodydivides into two or more parts each of which grows into a whole new individual
2 a : CLEAVAGE 2 b : the splitting of an atomic nucleus resulting in the release of large amounts of energy called also nuclear fission —fis·sion verb fis·sioned; fis·sion·ing /'fish-(&-)ni[ng] also 'fizh-/
—fis·sion·al /'fish-&n-&lalso 'fizh-/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

fission fis·sion (fĭsh'ən)
n.

  1. The act or process of splitting into parts.

  2. The amitotic division of a cell or its nucleus.

  3. An asexual process of reproduction in which a unicellular organism divides into two or more independently maturing daughter cells.

  4. A nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus, especially a heavy nucleus such as an isotope of uranium, splits into fragments, usually two of comparable mass, with the evolution of from 100 million to several hundred million electron volts of energy.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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