fuse

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A cord of readily combustible material that is lighted at one end to carry a flame along its length to detonate an explosive at the other end.
• noun A mechanical or electrical mechanism used to detonate an explosive charge or device such as a bomb or grenade.
• transitive verb To equip with a mechanical or electrical fuse.
• intransitive verb To join (different pieces or elements) together physically, as by melting or heating.
• intransitive verb To blend or combine together.
• intransitive verb To liquefy or reduce to a plastic state by heating; melt.
• intransitive verb To become physically joined together, as by melting.
• intransitive verb To be combined or blended together: synonym: mix.
• intransitive verb To become liquefied from heat.
• noun A safety device that protects an electric circuit from excessive current, consisting of or containing a metal element that melts when current exceeds a specific amperage, thereby opening the circuit.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun In electricity, a piece of conductor, inserted into an electric circuit, which is of less current-carrying capacity than the rest of the circuit, and therefore under excess of current melts and opens the circuit.
• noun The track or trail of a buck in the grass. Also fusee.
• noun A tube, casing, ribbon, etc., of various materials, filled or saturated with a combustible compound, and used as an exploder for firing a blast or for igniting any exploding charge, as of a military shell.
• To melt; liquefy by heat; render fluid.
• To blend or unite as if by melting together.
• Synonyms Dissolve, Thaw, etc. See melt.
• To amalgamate.
• To melt; be reduced from a solid to a fluid state by heat.
• To become intermingled and blended as if melted together.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• intransitive verb To be reduced from a solid to a fluid state by heat; to be melted; to melt.
• intransitive verb To be blended, as if melted together.
• intransitive verb the degree of temperature at which a substance melts; the point of fusion; the melting point.
• noun (Gunnery, Mining, etc.) A tube or casing filled with combustible matter, by means of which a charge of powder is ignited, as in blasting; -- called also fuzee. See fuze.
• noun the hole in a shell prepared for the reception of the fuse.
• noun (Mil.) a mechanism in a bomb, torpedo, rocket, or artillery shell, usually having an easily detonated explosive charge and activated by the shock of impact, which detonates the main explosive charge. Some fuses may have timing mechanisms, delaying the explosion for a short time, or up to several days after impact. Fuses activated by other mechanisms more sophisticated than impact, such as proximity or heat, are used in modern weapons such as antiaircraft or antimissile missiles.
• transitive verb To liquefy by heat; to render fluid; to dissolve; to melt.
• transitive verb To unite or blend, as if melted together.
• noun (Elec.) A wire, bar, or strip of fusible metal inserted for safety in an electric circuit. When the current increases beyond a certain safe strength, the metal melts, interrupting the circuit and thereby preventing possibility of damage. It serves the same function as a circuit breaker.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb transitive To melt together; to blend; to mix indistinguishably.
• verb intransitive To melt together.
• verb To furnish with or install a fuse.
• noun A cord that, when lit, conveys the fire to some explosive device.
• noun manufacturing, mining, military The mechanism that ignites the charge in an explosive device.
• noun A device to prevent the overloading of an electrical circuit.
• noun Indicating a tendency to lose one's temper.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• verb mix together different elements
• noun any igniter that is used to initiate the burning of a propellant
• verb equip with a fuse; provide with a fuse
• verb become plastic or fluid or liquefied from heat
• noun an electrical device that can interrupt the flow of electrical current when it is overloaded
• verb make liquid or plastic by heating