alternator

[ awl-ter-ney-ter, al- ]
/ ˈɔl tərˌneɪ tər, ˈæl- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR alternator ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Electricity.

a generator of alternating current.

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compact
joined or packed together; closely and firmly united; dense; solid.
ready or inclined to fight.
not participating actively.
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Origin of alternator

First recorded in 1890–95; alternate + -or2

Words nearby alternator

alternative pathway, alternative question, alternative school, alternative society, alternative vote, alternator, altgeld, althaea, althea, althing, altho
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to alternator

dynamo

Example sentences from the Web for alternator

British Dictionary definitions for alternator

alternator
/ (ˈɔːltəˌneɪtə) /

noun

an electrical machine that generates an alternating 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

Scientific definitions for alternator

alternator
[ ôl′tər-nā′tər ]

An electric generator that produces alternating current. The generator's coil is rotated (by a turbine, motor, or other power source), and its circular path causes it to cut cross a magnetic field (set up by strong magnets), first in one direction, then the other, with each cycle. The electric potential induced in the coil by this motion thus alternates between positive and negative once with each cycle, resulting in alternating current. See more at induction.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.