china syndrome

(idiomatic, nuclear physics, uncountable) A hypothetical kind of catastrophic failure in which a nuclear reactor melts through the floor of its containment system and (if on land) penetrates the Earth's surface, continuing downward as if (from a Western Hemispheric point of view) traveling through the planet toward China.

(idiomatic, countable, sometimes fanciful) A behavior, policy, or situation characteristic of or involving China; an actual or potential catastrophe, especially one involving China.

(idiomatic, nuclear physics, countable) A specific instance of this type of failure.

(medicine) A rare disease, first characterized in the early 1990s, which resembles polio but which has somewhat different characteristics and occurs in persons vaccinated for polio.

Alternative form of China syndrome. [(idiomatic, nuclear physics, uncountable) A hypothetical kind of catastrophic failure in which a nuclear reactor melts through the floor of its containment system and (if on land) penetrates the Earth's surface, continuing downward as if (from a Western Hemispheric point of view) traveling through the planet toward China.]