critical mass
Americannoun
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Physics. the amount of a given fissionable material necessary to sustain a chain reaction at a constant rate.
The critical mass for a bomb based on uranium fission is different than that for plutonium fission.
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an amount necessary or sufficient to have a significant effect or to achieve a result.
a critical mass of popular support.
noun
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the minimum mass of fissionable material that can sustain a nuclear chain reaction
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the minimum amount of money or number of people required to start or sustain an operation, business, process, etc
the critical mass for a subscription digital sports channel
Etymology
Origin of critical mass
First recorded in 1940–45
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Until the past decade, what was missing was the good jobs to keep a critical mass of that attractive workforce in the city.
From BBC
In the modern music industry, with listening splintered across various streaming services and social-media platforms, it’s hard to write any song, much less a protest song, that reaches a critical mass of listeners.
This means that when a hub reaches critical mass it can survive policy errors that would cripple a challenger.
At one point Karp tried to rally the troops and attempted to organize a joint letter, but a critical mass wouldn’t sign on.
Wood Mackenzie reckons the metals-intensive energy transition has, in the meantime, reached critical mass and will continue independently of political influences.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
