Definition of "china syndrome" in English

Noun

1. 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.

2. A specific instance of this type of failure.

3. A behavior, policy, or situation characteristic of or involving China; an actual or potential catastrophe, especially one involving China.

4. 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.