rheostat

American

[ree-uh-stat] / ˈri əˌstæt /

noun

Electricity.

an adjustable resistor so constructed that its resistance may be changed without opening the circuit in which it is connected, thereby controlling the current in the circuit.

rheostat British

/ ˈriːəˌstæt /

noun

a variable resistance, usually consisting of a coil of wire with a terminal at one end and a sliding contact that moves along the coil to tap off the current

"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

rheostat Scientific

/ rē′ə-stăt′ /

See under resistor

Other Word Forms

rheostatic

adjective

Etymology

Origin of rheostat

First recorded in 1843; rheo- + -stat

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Rheostat Form of Switch Push Buttons.—A push button is but a modified structure of a switch, and they are serviceablep.

From Electricity for Boys by Zerbe, James Slough

Rheostat, rē′o-stat, n. the name given by Wheatstone to an instrument for varying an electric resistance between given limits.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023