circuit breaker
noun
Simple meaning
An electrical switch capable of opening and closing an electrical circuit in all operating conditions, including fault situations.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
surkuhtbraykerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɝkətbˈɹeɪkɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
electricity
An electrical switch capable of opening and closing an electrical circuit in all operating conditions, including fault situations.
electricity
More specifically, a circuit breaker that automatically breaks overcurrent conditions; a type of overcurrent protective device.
chiefly singapore
Quarantine measures intended to prevent spread of pandemics, especially COVID-19.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (electricity) An electrical switch capable of opening and closing an electrical circuit in all operating conditions, including fault situations.
Used this way, circuit breaker is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is an engineering use: it is a working term used for accuracy on the job.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
- Science
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.