I. fuse 1 /fjuːz/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Sense 1: Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ fuse 2 ]
[ Sense 2,3: Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Italian ; Origin: fuso 'spindle (= long thin part which turns around)' , from Latin fusus ]
1 . a short thin piece of wire inside electrical equipment which prevents damage by melting and stopping the electricity when there is too much power:
two 13 amp fuses
I taught him how to change a fuse.
blow a fuse (=make it melt by putting too much electricity through it)
2 . ( also fuze American English ) a thing that delays a bomb, ↑ firework etc from exploding until you are a safe distance away, or makes it explode at a particular time
3 . a short fuse if someone has a short fuse, they get angry very easily
⇨ blow a fuse at ↑ blow 1 (16)
II. fuse 2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive and transitive]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: fusus , past participle of fundere 'to pour, melt' ]
1 . to join together physically, or to make things join together, and become a single thing
fuse (something) together
The egg and sperm fuse together as one cell.
2 . to combine different qualities, ideas, or things, or to be combined SYN merge :
Their music fuses elements as diverse as Cajun, bebop and Cuban waltzes.
fuse (something) with something
Leonard takes Carver-style dirty realism and fuses it with the pace of a detective story.
fuse (something) into something
We intend to fuse the companies into a single organization.
3 . British English if electrical equipment fuses, or if you fuse it, it stops working because a fuse has melted:
The lights have fused again.
4 . technical if a rock or metal fuses, or if you fuse it, it becomes liquid by being heated:
Lead fuses at quite a low temperature.
⇨ ↑ fusion
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to mix styles, ideas, or other things
▪ mix to put different styles, ideas, or other things together:
His music mixes jazz and classical styles.
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The different categories of books were all mixed together.
▪ combine to mix different styles, ideas, or other things, so that they work together or become a single thing:
Diets are most effective when they are combined with exercise.
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He combines Greek philosophy with Christian teachings.
▪ blend to combine parts of different things together, especially in a successful and effective way:
The teaching course blends theory and practice in the classroom.
▪ fuse to combine different styles in order to form a new style:
The band fuses African rhythms with traditional Celtic music.
▪ jumble to mix things together in an untidy way, so that they are not in any order:
The jigsaw pieces were all jumbled together in the box.