fallout shelter
Definition
Noun: A specially designed, fortified structure intended to protect people from radioactive fallout following a nuclear explosion or other radiological event.
Usage
A "fallout shelter" is a specific type of emergency shelter. It is designed to shield occupants from radioactive particles that settle from the atmosphere after a nuclear detonation, not from the initial blast or heat. The term is used in contexts of civil defense, emergency preparedness, and historical discussions of the Cold War era.
Examples
- During the Cold War, many families built a fallout shelter in their backyard.
- The city's emergency plan designates several public buildings as potential fallout shelters.
- The old building has a reinforced basement that was once certified as a fallout shelter.
Advanced Usage
- The concept is often used metaphorically to describe a place of retreat from any threatening outside influence or consequence.
- After the scandal, his country estate became a kind of fallout shelter from the media.
Variants and Related Words
- Bomb shelter: A broader term for a shelter protecting against explosions and bombing; a fallout shelter is a specific type of bomb shelter focused on radiation.
- Safe room / Panic room: A secured room for protection against immediate physical threats (e.g., intruders), not specifically radiation.
- Blast shelter: A shelter specifically engineered to withstand the overpressure and debris from an explosion.
Synonyms
- Radiation shelter
- Civil defense shelter
Related Phrases
- To take shelter in a fallout shelter: The action of entering and using the shelter.
- Residents were instructed to take shelter in the designated fallout shelter.
Noun
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a shelter to protect occupants from the fallout from an atomic bomb
