cathode

[kath-ohd]

noun

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

2. the positive terminal of a voltaic cell or battery.

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

cathode

/ kæˈθɒdɪk, -ˈθəʊ-, ˈkæθəʊd, kæˈθəʊdəl /

noun

1. the negative electrode in an electrolytic cell; the electrode by which electrons enter a device from an external circuit

2. the negatively charged electron source in an electronic valve

3. the positive terminal of a primary cell

cathode

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

2. The source of electrons in an electrical device, such as a vacuum tube or diode.

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

4. Compare anode

Other Word Forms

• cathodal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cathode¹

1825–35; < Greek káthodos a way down, equivalent to kat- cat- ( def. ) + hodós way

Word History and Origins

Origin of cathode¹

C19: from Greek kathodos a descent, from kata- down + hodos way

Example Sentences

In July, Beijing said it would require licenses to transfer certain technologies linked to lithium-ion battery manufacturing overseas, and in October it started requiring export licenses for certain manufacturing equipment and cathode materials.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Pairing that metastable phase with a O3-type cathode that has been coated with a chloride-based solid electrolyte can create thick, high-areal-loading cathodes that puts this new design beyond previous sodium batteries.

Read more on Science Daily

American Battery won a grant in 2022 to build and operate a manufacturing facility for battery cathode grade lithium hydroxide, a component in electric vehicles.

Read more on Barron's

It has also developed a way of turning that lithium into a lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, cathode material in two more steps.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Are we doing retro-futurism? Are we doing the the cathode ray tube screens? Are we doing all of that stuff that in 1979 felt super futuristic, and to us now, feels like 1979?” he says.

Read more on Los Angeles Times