fuse

fuse¹

verb

1》 join, blend, or coalesce to form a single entity.

2》 melt (a material or object) with intense heat, so as to join it with something else.

3》 Brit. (with reference to an electrical appliance) stop or cause to stop working when a fuse melts.

4》 provide (a circuit or electrical appliance) with a fuse.

noun a safety device consisting of a strip of wire that melts and breaks an electric circuit if the current exceeds a safe level.

Origin

C16: from L. fus-, fundere 'pour, melt'.

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fuse²

(US also fuze)

noun a length of material along which a small flame moves to explode a bomb or firework.

↘a device in a bomb that controls the timing of the explosion.

verb fit a fuse to (a bomb).

Derivatives

fuseless adjective

Origin

C17: from Ital. fuso, from L. fusus 'spindle'.