insulation

insulation

English

Etymology

    From insulate + -ion.

    Pronunciation

    • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌɪnsjʊˈleɪʃən/
    • (US) IPA(key): /ˌɪnsəˈleɪʃən/
    • Audio (UK):(file)
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Rhymes: -eɪʃən

    Noun

    insulation (countable and uncountable, plural insulations)

    1. The act of insulating; detachment from other objects; isolation.
      • 2013 March, Nancy Langston, “Mining the Boreal North”, in American Scientist[1], volume 101, number 2, archived from the original on 13 April 2016, page 98:
        Reindeer are well suited to the taiga’s frigid winters. They can maintain a thermogradient between body core and the environment of up to 100 degrees, in part because of insulation provided by their fur, and in part because of counter-current vascular heat exchange systems in their legs and nasal passages.
    2. The state of being insulated; detachment from other objects; isolation.
    3. Any of a variety of materials designed to reduce the flow of heat, either from or into a building.
    4. (engineering) The act of separating a body from others by nonconductors, so as to prevent the transfer of electricity, heat, or sound
    5. (engineering) The state of a body so separated.
    6. (electricity) a medium in which it is possible to maintain an electrical field with little supply of energy from additional sources.

    Derived terms

    Translations