disjoncteur

circuit breaker

noun dee-zhohnk-TUR Rare

Usage Note

Disjoncteur is the standard term for the electrical circuit breaker that automatically cuts power when a circuit is overloaded. The related verb disjoncter (as in ça a disjoncté) is informal for 'to blow a fuse' or 'to go crazy', a colourful extension of the technical meaning.

Examples

"Le disjoncteur a sauté à cause d'une surcharge."

Natural Translation

The circuit breaker tripped because of an overload.

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