Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun chain_reaction

2 senses of chain reaction

Sense 1
chain reaction -- (a series of chemical reactions in which the product of one is a reactant in the next)
       => chemical reaction, reaction -- ((chemistry) a process in which one or more substances are changed into others; "there was a chemical reaction of the lime with the ground water")

Sense 2
chain reaction -- (a self-sustaining nuclear reaction; a series of nuclear fissions in which neutrons released by splitting one atom leads to the splitting of others)
       => nuclear reaction -- ((physics) a process that alters the energy or structure or composition of atomic nuclei)