anode

[ an-ohd ]

/ ˈæn oʊd /

noun

the electrode or terminal by which current enters an electrolytic cell, voltaic cell, battery, etc.

the negative terminal of a voltaic cell or battery.

the positive terminal, electrode, or element of an electron tube or electrolytic cell.

Nearby words

Origin of anode

1825–35; < Greek ánodos way up, equivalent to an- an-³ + hodós way, road

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

Examples from the Web for anode

He also found that the liquid round the anode became acid, and that round the cathode alkaline.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2|Various
With fifteen parts of water, a little oxygen, with much chlorine, was evolved at the anode.
Experimental Researches in Electricity, Volume 1|Michael Faraday
These corpuscles bombard the anode and keep it incandescent.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 8|Various
In the method of construction shown in Fig. 41, the anode is put in first.
On Laboratory Arts|Richard Threlfall

The anode is inserted into its bulb in a quite similar manner.
On Laboratory Arts|Richard Threlfall

British Dictionary definitions for anode

anode

/ (ˈænəʊd) /

noun

the positive electrode in an electrolytic cell

Also called (esp US): plate the positively charged electrode in an electronic valve

the negative terminal of a primary cellCompare cathode

Derived Formsanodal (eɪˈnəʊdəl) or anodic (əˈnɒdɪk), adjective

Word Origin for anode

C19: from Greek anodos a way up, from hodos a way; alluding to the movement of the current to or from the positive pole

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 anode

anode

1834, coined from Greek anodos "way up," from ana "up" (see ana-) + hodos "way" (see cede). Proposed by the Rev. William Whewell (1794-1866), English polymath, and published by English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867). So called from the path the electrical current was thought to take. Related: Anodic.

Science definitions for anode

anode

[ ăn′ōd′ ]

The positive electrode in an electrolytic cell, toward which negatively charged particles are attracted. The anode has a positive charge because it is connected to the positively charged end of an external power supply.

The positively charged element of an electrical device, such as a vacuum tube or a diode, to which electrons are attracted.

The negative electrode of a voltaic cell, such as a battery. The anode gets its negative charge from the chemical reaction that happens inside the battery, not from an external source. Compare cathode.