capacitor
[ kuh-pas-i-ter ]
/ kəˈpæs ɪ tər /
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noun Electricity.
a device for accumulating and holding a charge of electricity, consisting of two equally charged conducting surfaces having opposite signs and separated by a dielectric.
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Also called condenser.
Origin of capacitor
First recorded in 1925–30; capacit(y) + -or2
Words nearby capacitor
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for capacitor
Aluminum surfaces on the walls and ceiling would conduct electricity from capacitors as it travels back to a copper pole in the center of the room.
Xiaomi’s long-range wireless charger shows a glimpse of a cord-free future|Stan Horaczek|February 1, 2021|Popular ScienceThe capacitor also powered a sensor that measured the saltiness of that person’s sweat.
Working up a sweat may one day power up a device|Carolyn Wilke|June 29, 2020|Science News For StudentsTo return to his present day, his flux capacitor needed a providential shaft of lightning.
"Nice job these babies got," commented Gaines as he checked the capacitor circuits.
The Small World of M-75|Ed M. Clinton, Jr.
British Dictionary definitions for capacitor
capacitor
/ (kəˈpæsɪtə) /
noun
a device for accumulating electric charge, usually consisting of two conducting surfaces separated by a dielectricFormer name: condenser
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 capacitor
capacitor
[ kə-păs′ĭ-tər ]
An electrical device consisting of two conducting plates separated by an electrical insulator (the dielectric), designed to hold an electric charge. Charge builds up when a voltage is applied across the plates, creating an electric field between them. Current can flow through a capacitor only as the voltage across it is changing, not when it is constant. Capacitors are used in power supplies, amplifiers, signal processors, oscillators, and logic gates. Compare induction coil resistor.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for capacitor
capacitor
[ (kuh-pas-i-tuhr) ]
A device used in electrical circuits. The capacitor stores an electrical charge for short periods of time, and then returns it to the circuit.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.