photovoltaic

[ foh-toh-vol-tey-ik, -vohl- ]

adjectiveElectricity.
  1. of or relating to the photovoltaic effect.

Origin of photovoltaic

1
First recorded in 1920–25; photo- + voltaic

Words Nearby photovoltaic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use photovoltaic in a sentence

  • The National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy has watched solar photovoltaic price trends since 1980.

    How Cheap Can Solar Power Go? | David Frum | December 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • The other end terminated with a PDA with a small rubberized photovoltaic cell on the front.

    Makers | Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for photovoltaic

photovoltaic

/ (ˌfəʊtəʊvɒlˈteɪɪk) /


adjective
  1. of, concerned with, or producing electric current or voltage caused by electromagnetic radiation, esp visible light from the sun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for photovoltaic

photovoltaic

[ fō′tō-vŏl-tāĭk, -vōl- ]


  1. Capable of producing a voltage, usually through photoemission, when exposed to radiant energy, especially light. See more at photoelectric solar cell.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.