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alternator
[ awl-ter-ney-ter, al- ]
/ ˈɔl tərˌneɪ tər, ˈæl- /
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noun Electricity.
a generator of alternating current.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use alternator in a sentence
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
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