alternator

[ awl-ter-ney-ter, al- ]

/ ˈɔl tərˌneɪ tər, ˈæl- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR alternator ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Electricity.

a generator of alternating current.

RELATED WORDS

dynamo

Nearby words

Origin of alternator

First recorded in 1890–95; alternate + -or²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for alternator

Even when making such observations with an alternator one is apt to be mistaken.
The inventions, researches and writings of Nikola Tesla|Thomas Commerford Martin
The alternator began to buzz and spark, crackling viciously.
The Boy Inventors' Radio Telephone|Richard Bonner
For the alternator panels, instruments of the vertical edgewise type are used.
The New York Subway|Anonymous
With these remarks, the transition may be made to the fuller discussion of the alternator.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 9|Various

The coils of the armature, which must for high voltages be heavily insulated, are then Alternator construction.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 9|Various

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

Word Origin and History for alternator

alternator

1878, agent noun in Latin form from alternate (v.).

Science 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.