capacitance
Americannoun
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the ratio of an impressed charge on a conductor to the corresponding change in potential.
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the ratio of the charge on either conductor of a capacitor to the potential difference between the conductors.
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the property of being able to collect a charge of electricity. C
noun
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the property of a system that enables it to store electric charge
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a measure of this, equal to the charge that must be added to such a system to raise its electrical potential by one unit
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A measure of the ability of a configuration of materials to store electric charge. In a capacitor, capacitance depends on the size of the plates, the type of insulator, and the amount of space between the plates. Most electrical components display capacitance to some degree; even the spaces between components of a circuit have a natural capacitance. Capacitance is measured in farads.
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Compare inductance
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of capacitance
First recorded in 1905–10; capacit(y) + -ance
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When a conductive material, such as a fingertip or even a drop of water, interacts with that field, it changes the screen's capacitance.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2026
The areal capacitance of the resulting MSC retains its original value even after stretching up to 1,000 cycles.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024
This takes advantage of the temperature dependence of the capacitance of specially manufactured miniature capacitors.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2024
This small value for the capacitance indicates how difficult it is to make a device with a large capacitance.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
The Protective Condenser.—This condenser has a capacitance of 1 mfd. and costs $2.00.
From The Radio Amateur's Hand Book by A. Frederick (Archie Frederick) Collins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
