fallout

See also: Fallout, fall out, and fall-out

English

Etymology

Deverbal from fall out; fall +‎ out.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔːlaʊt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔlˌaʊt/

Noun

fallout (countable and uncountable, plural fallouts)

1. The event of small airborne particles falling to the ground in significant quantities as a result of major industrial activity, volcano eruption, sandstorm, nuclear explosion, etc.
   • 2017 April 6, Samira Shackle, “On the frontline with Karachi’s ambulance drivers”, in the Guardian‎^[1]:

     It was 5 February 2010 and Safdar had already dealt with the fallout of one explosion that day: an hour before, a motorbike laden with explosives had slammed into a bus carrying Shia Muslims to a religious procession.

2. The particles themselves.

   On 26 April 1986 the reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant located in the Soviet Union near Pripyat in Ukraine exploded. Further explosions and the resulting fire sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and over an extensive geographical area.

3. A negative side effect; an undesirable or unexpected consequence.

   Synonyms: blowback, repercussions

   Psychological fallout in the shadow of terrorism (title of an article by Dr. Abraham Twerski, M.D.)[2]

4. (rare) A declined offer in a sales transaction when acceptance was presumed.
5. (rare) The person who declines such an offer.
6. (radio, television, broadcasting) An impromptu guest used to fill in for another guest spot who is a no-show or who has cancelled last minute.

Derived terms

• area of militarily significant fallout
• atmospheric fallout
• borrower fallout
• chemical fallout
• executive fallout
• fallout contour
• fallout pattern
• fallout prediction
• fallout risk
• fallout safe height of burst
• fallout shelter
• fallout winds
• fallout wind vector plot
• investor fallout
• militarily significant fallout
• nuclear fallout
• radioactive fallout
• soot fallout

 

Translations

event of airborne particles falling to the ground

• Afrikaans: uitval
• Armenian: տեղումներ pl (teġumner)
• Belarusian: апа́дкі m pl (apádki)
• Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: pluja radioactiva f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 落下 (zh) (luòxià), 下降 (zh) (xiàjiàng)

• Czech: spad (cs) m
• Danish: nedfald n
• Dutch: fall-out (nl) m, neerslag (nl) m
• Finnish: laskeuma (fi)
• French: retombées (fr) f pl
• German: Niederschlag (de) m, Niedersinken n, Niedergehen n, Herabrieseln n (dust, sand), Ascheregen (de) m (volcano eruption)
• Greek: πρόσπτωση (el) f (prósptosi)
• Hebrew: נשורת f (neshóret)
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can
• Hungarian: kihullás (hu)
• Italian: pioggia (it) f
• Japanese: 降下 (ja) (こうか, kōka), 落下 (ja) (らっか, rakka)
• Kazakh: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 강하 (ko) (gangha), 낙하 (ko) (nakha), 락하 (ko) (rakha) (North Korea)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: nedfall n

  Nynorsk: nedfall n

• Persian: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: precipitação (pt) f
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: оса́дки (ru) m pl (osádki), выпаде́ние (ru) n (vypadénije)
• Serbo-Croatian: please add this translation if you can
• Slovak: spad m
• Slovene: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: lluvia (es)
• Swedish: nedfall n
• Turkish: serpinti (tr)
• Ukrainian: оса́дка f (osádka), опади m pl (opady)
• Urdu: please add this translation if you can

particles that fall to the ground

• Afrikaans: kern-as (from an atomic bomb)
• Armenian: նստվածք (hy) (nstvackʻ)
• Catalan: pluja radioactiva f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 落塵／落尘 (zh) (luòchén), 原子塵／原子尘 (zh) (yuánzǐchén), 落下物 (luòxiàwù)

• Czech: spad (cs) m
• Danish: nedfaldsprodukt n
• Finnish: laskeuma (fi)
• German: Fallout (de) m, radioaktiver Niederschlag m, radioaktiver Staub m, Asche (de) f (volcano eruption), Explosionsstaub m (explosion)
• Greek: προσπτώσεις (el) f pl (prosptóseis), (radioactivity) ραδιενεργή τέφρα f (radienergí téfra)
• Japanese: 落下物 (らっかぶつ, rakkabutsu)
• Kyrgyz: радиоактивдүү заттардын жаашы (ky) (radioaktivdüü zattardın jaaşı)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: nedfall n

  Nynorsk: nedfall n

• Russian: оса́дки (ru) m pl (osádki)
• Slovak: spad m
• Spanish: ceniza (es) f
• Swedish: nedfall n
• Thai: ฝุ่นกัมมันตรังสี
• Turkish: serpinti (tr)
• Ukrainian: опади m pl (opady)

negative side effect

• Danish: følgevirkning c
• Finnish: sivuvaikutus (fi)
• French: retombées (fr) f pl, répercussions (fr) f pl
• Italian: ripercussioni (it) f pl
• Russian: негати́вное после́дствие n (negatívnoje poslédstvije)
• Slovak: dohra f
• Spanish: efectos colaterales m pl

declined offer in a sales transaction when acceptance was presumed

• Swedish: avslag (sv) n

person who declines such an offer

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} retombées (fr) f pl (1-3)

See also

• rainout
• smokefall

Anagrams

• outfall