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reactor

 - 4 dictionary results

re⋅ac⋅tor

[ree-ak-ter]
–noun
1. a person or thing that reacts or undergoes reaction.
2. Electricity. a device whose primary purpose is to introduce reactance into a circuit.
3. Immunology, Veterinary Medicine. a patient or animal that reacts positively towards a foreign material.
4. Also called atomic pile, chain reactor, chain-reacting pile, nuclear reactor, pile. Physics. an apparatus in which a nuclear-fission chain reaction can be initiated, sustained, and controlled, for generating heat or producing useful radiation.
5. Chemistry. (esp. in industry) a large container, as a vat, for processes in which the substances involved undergo a chemical reaction.

Origin:
1885–90; 1940–45 for def. 4; react + -or 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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re·ac·tor   (rē-āk'tər)   
n.  
  1. One that reacts to a stimulus.

  2. Electronics A circuit element, such as a coil, used to introduce reactance.

  3. Physics A nuclear reactor.

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

reactor 
"one that reacts," 1890 (see reaction). In nuclear sense, attested from 1945.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: re·ac·tor
Pronunciation: rE-'ak-t&r
Function: noun
1 : one that reacts: as a : a chemical reagent b : an individual reacting to a stimulus c : an individual reacting positively to a foreign substance (as in a test for disease) <reactors totuberculin>
2 a : a piece of equipment in which a chemical reaction and especially an industrial chemical reaction is carried out b : a device for thecontrolled release of nuclear energy (as for producing heat)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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