reactors
|re-act-or|
🇺🇸
/riˈæktər/
🇬🇧
/riˈæktə/
(reactor)
device for nuclear reactions
Etymology
'reactor' originates from Latin elements 're-' and 'agere' via the verb 'react' and the agentive suffix '-or'; 're-' meant 'back/again' and 'agere' meant 'to do or drive'.
'reactor' developed from the verb 'react' (formed from Late Latin/Medieval Latin stem 'react-') with the English agent noun suffix '-or', yielding the noun 'reactor' in modern English.
Initially, the root referred to 'doing again' or 'acting back'; over time English 'reactor' came to mean 'one or that which reacts', and later acquired specialized technical senses (nuclear and chemical devices).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
plural of 'reactor': a facility or device in which a controlled nuclear chain reaction is maintained to produce power or for research (nuclear reactors).
Several reactors at the plant were shut down for safety inspections.
Synonyms
Noun 2
plural of 'reactor': an apparatus or vessel in which chemical reactions are carried out on an industrial or laboratory scale (chemical reactors, reaction vessels).
The company's reactors are designed to handle corrosive reagents at high temperature.
Synonyms
Noun 3
plural of 'reactor': (less common) people or things that respond to or are affected by an action or stimulus — i.e., those who react.
Public reactors to the announcement voiced strong opinions on social media.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/20 14:37