electrical fuse
- noun
- /ɪˈlɛktrɪkəl fjuz/
- Specialized
:
fusible eléctrico
- Opening the electrical fuse box, she flicks a switch back and forth a few times, but the washing machine doesn't respond.
Examples
-
An electrical fuse prevents appliances from overheating by breaking the circuit if the current is too high.
-
And I always give an example of an electrical fuse as a fail safe design.
-
"There's an electrical fuse box by the side of the front door," Andrew responded confidently to Peter's attempt at business.
Fiction book (1993) -
The technician checked the electrical fuse in the box to ensure there was no malfunction causing the power outage.
-
When the lights suddenly turned off, I realized the electrical fuse must have blown during the storm.
Synonyms
54
4.4
A safety wire that melts to stop electricity when current is too high
1
4.1
A small device in an electrical circuit that stops the electric current when it becomes too strong
A small safety device that screws into a socket to stop too much electricity
A small electric part in a tube that stops electricity when too much flows
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from 'electrical' (relating to electricity) + 'fuse' (a protective element that melts under overload), so a learner who knows both constituents will understand it refers to a device that interrupts electric current when overloaded. This adjective+noun composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern and follows standard English noun phrase formation, making it readily comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Electrical fuse comes from a simple image: a thin wire inside a small part that is meant to 'melt' when too much electricity flows. This makes the fuse 'break' the flow, so the name tells us it is a 'safety device' that stops electricity to protect wires and machines.