To push a circuit beyond its rated current capacity, causing the internal wire or strip of a fuse to melt and interrupt the flow of electricity. While technically specific to the physical destruction of a fuse element, field crews use the phrase loosely for any overcurrent event that trips a breaker or takes out a localized circuit.
If you plug that heavy load bank into the auxiliary supply, you'll blow a fuse before the test even starts.
Related terms
Fuse
A sacrificial protection device containing a conductive element that melts to safely break a circuit during an overcurrent event.
Fuse wire
A bare, easily melted metallic strand used as the replaceable sacrificial element in older rewirable protective devices.
Short circuit
Unintended low-impedance path between conductors at different potentials, bypassing the load.
Fault current
Abnormally high current that flows when insulation fails and a short circuit or earth fault forms.