nuclear reactor

[noo-klee-er ree-ak-ter, nyoo-] / ˈnu kli ər riˈæk tər, ˈnyu- /

NOUN

atomic reactor

Synonyms

STRONGEST

reactor

WEAK

atomic furnace atomic pile atomic power plant atomic reactor breeder reactor chain reactor core reactor fast breeder reactor neutron factory nuclear furnace nuclear power plant pile plutonium reactor reactor pile thermonuclear reactor uranium reactor

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

NextEra and Google in October announced a deal to restart a NextEra nuclear reactor in Iowa.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

Will Summerlin at Autopilot Ventures buys the builders, including data-center contractors, optical interconnect startups and small modular nuclear reactor companies.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

A gigawatt is roughly equivalent to the power generated by a nuclear reactor.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

Within 60 days, the White House is directing the Energy Department to provide an assessment on the readiness of the U.S. nuclear reactor industrial base to produce “up to four space reactors within five years.”

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Lawrence’s campaign to add a nuclear reactor to Berkeley’s arsenal of atom-smashing technologies dated back to his wartime effort to wrest Enrico Fermi’s nuclear pile away from Arthur Compton and the University of Chicago.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik