lexicow

fuse

/fjuːz//fjuːz/·verb, noun

to join or blend into one by melting; (noun) a safety wire that melts to break a circuit

I watch two plates slide in from either side until their edges just touch. Then a torch runs down the join, and where its white heat passes the two edges go liquid and run together into one bright bead; sparks jump aside. When the torch lifts, the line glows, then darkens and cools — and I look for the seam and cannot find it. There is one plate now, and nothing to say where the two used to be.
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Definition

To fuse is to join two things into one by melting them together, so completely that the boundary is gone — metals fuse under heat, and by extension genres, ideas, and cultures fuse into something new. From the Latin fundere 'to pour or melt'. The same spelling names a very different noun: a fuse is the thin wire in a circuit that melts and breaks when the current runs too high. Where two edges coalesce under heat they fuse; unlike things that merely diverge, what is fused cannot be pulled apart.

Examples

  • Under the torch's heat the two steel plates fuse into a single piece.
  • The band's sound fuses jazz drumming with traditional folk melodies.
  • In a star, hydrogen nuclei fuse and release the energy that makes it shine.

Collocations

fuse together· fuse into one· blow a fuse· nuclear fusion· fuse metals

Synonyms

merge· weld· blend· coalesce· unite

Antonyms

separate· split· diverge

Word family

fusion (noun)· fused (adjective)

In TOEFL & IELTS

Mind the noun/verb split: the verb fuse means to join by melting (metals, genres, and ideas fuse), while the noun fuse is the wire that melts to break a circuit — and 'blow a fuse' (to lose your temper) is informal, not for essays. The noun of the verb is fusion (nuclear fusion, a fusion of styles); keep fusion (joining) apart from fission (splitting), which examiners love to test. Fuse is regular: fused, fusing.

FAQ

Is 'fuse' a noun or a verb?
Both, with unrelated everyday meanings. The verb fuse means to join by melting into one thing — the torch fuses the two plates in the scene above. The noun a fuse is the little wire in a plug or circuit that melts to cut the power when the current gets dangerous. Same spelling, two separate lives; context tells you which.
What is a fuse in electricity?
A deliberate weak link in a circuit — a short, thin strip of wire that melts and breaks the circuit if too much current flows, protecting the wiring and appliances from overheating or catching fire. You meet it in a plug or the household fuse box, rated in amps (a 3-amp or 13-amp fuse). Modern homes often use resettable circuit breakers for the same job.
What does 'blow a fuse' mean?
To suddenly lose your temper — 'he blew a fuse when he saw the bill'. The image is literal: an overloaded electrical fuse melts and cuts the circuit, so a person 'blowing a fuse' has hit their limit and shut down in anger. It is informal and spoken; keep it out of formal essays.
What is the difference between fuse and fusion?
Fuse is the verb (to join by melting); fusion is the noun (the joining or its result) — nuclear fusion, a fusion of cuisines. And keep fusion apart from fission: fusion joins small things into a larger one (as in the sun), while fission splits one thing into parts. Exam passages on energy lean on that contrast.
What is the past tense of fuse?
Fused — fuse is a regular verb (fuse, fused, fusing). It works both ways: intransitively things fuse on their own ('the bones fused as they healed'), and transitively heat fuses them ('the kiln fused the glass'). You will often see 'fuse together', where 'together' just adds emphasis and is usually optional.
How do you pronounce fuse?
Fyooz (/fjuːz/) — one syllable, rhyming with 'use' as a verb and with 'views'. The tricky part is the ending: the -se is voiced, a /z/ sound, not a hissing /s/. Same vowel as 'few' followed by that z. The related noun fusion adds a syllable: FYOO-zhun.
What is the difference between fuse and blend?
Blend is to mix smoothly, and the result can still be a mixture you could separate in principle — blended coffee, blended colours. Fuse is stronger: the parts join so thoroughly they become one inseparable thing, as if melted together. A blend of styles keeps its ingredients; a fusion of styles makes a new single thing.