autotransformer

American

[aw-toh-trans-fawr-mer] / ˌɔ toʊ trænsˈfɔr mər /

noun

Electricity.

a transformer having a single coil that serves as both a primary coil and a secondary coil.

autotransformer British

/ ˌɔːtəʊtrænsˈfɔːmə /

noun

a transformer in which part of the winding is common to both primary and secondary circuits

"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

Etymology

Origin of autotransformer

First recorded in 1890–95; auto- ¹ + transformer

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