fuse1
v.
- join, blend, or coalesce to form a single entity.
- melt (a material or object) with intense heat, so as to join it with something else.
- Brit. (with reference to an electrical appliance) stop or cause to stop working when a fuse melts.
- provide (a circuit or electrical appliance) with a fuse.
n.
a safety device consisting of a strip of wire that melts and breaks an electric circuit if the current exceeds a safe level.
Etymology
C16: from L. fus-, fundere ‘pour, melt’.
fuse2
n.
a length of material along which a small flame moves to explode a bomb or firework.
▸a device in a bomb that controls the timing of the explosion.
v.
fit a fuse to (a bomb).
Derivative
Etymology
C17: from Ital. fuso, from L. fusus ‘spindle’.