China syndrome
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A hypothetical nuclear reactor meltdown scenario
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
một kịch bản giả định về sự cố nóng chảy lò phản ứng hạt nhân
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: a syndrome related to China
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “China syndrome” mean?
A hypothetical nuclear reactor meltdown scenario Literally: a syndrome related to China
Is “China syndrome” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.