CONTAINMENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does containment mean? 

• CONTAINMENT (noun)
  The noun CONTAINMENT has 3 senses:

1. a policy of creating strategic alliances in order to check the expansion of a hostile power or ideology or to force it to negotiate peacefully

2. (physics) a system designed to prevent the accidental release of radioactive material from a reactor

3. the act of containing; keeping something from spreading

  Familiarity information: CONTAINMENT used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONTAINMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A policy of creating strategic alliances in order to check the expansion of a hostile power or ideology or to force it to negotiate peacefully

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

containment of communist expansion was a central principle of United States' foreign policy from 1947 to the 1975

Hypernyms ("containment" is a kind of...):

policy (a plan of action adopted by an individual or social group)

Derivation:

contain (hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(physics) a system designed to prevent the accidental release of radioactive material from a reactor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("containment" is a kind of...):

system (instrumentality that combines interrelated interacting artifacts designed to work as a coherent entity)

Domain category:

natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of containing; keeping something from spreading

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the containment of the rebellion

Hypernyms ("containment" is a kind of...):

restraint (the act of controlling by restraining someone or something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "containment"):

ring containment (a strategy of defense in cases of bioterrorism; vaccination only of people exposed and others who are in contact with them)

Derivation:

contain (hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of)

 Context examples 

Mixing of dry ingredients by mechanical agitation within a containment zone.

(Dry Powder Convection Mixing, NCI Thesaurus)

They obtain wholesale prices from doctors, and carry out cost-containment measures, including auditing hospitals and reviewing claims.

(Managed Care, NCI Thesaurus)

Resource assists in facilities design, advices during the construction of containment facilities, and maintains a liaison with governmental agencies regarding biosafety related matters.

(Biosafety Service Shared Resource, NCI Thesaurus)

Study of the occurrence, distribution, and containment of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

(AIDS Epidemiology, NCI Thesaurus)