noun
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the design of an electrical circuit
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the system of circuits used in an electronic device
Etymology
Origin of circuitry
Explanation
Circuitry is a network of interconnected paths through which electricity flows, especially in a computer or other electronic device. It's a bit like the electrical version of the body's circulatory system. Circuitry can refer to the actual electronic components that direct and control the flow of electricity in a device or to the detailed plans for an electrical circuit or system of circuits. Each electrical circuit has a source of electrical power (such as a battery), a conductive pathway (such as a wire), and a load that is being powered by the electricity. A switch is opened or closed to start or stop the flow. A device's circuitry is made up of all the circuits within it as well as the pieces connecting them.
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.
"We all have phones, we all have similar brain circuitry, and so many of us can become addicted."
From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026
Humanity’s salvation, then, rests in reverting to analog and relying on people more than circuitry.
From Salon • May 5, 2026
Somewhere deep in the limbic system, a synapse fires like a flare, tracing the old circuitry of migration and memory — that annual pull toward the wide-open deserts of the American Southwest.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026
It also might be the key to keeping your heat on: A gas heating system often has electrical controls wired into your home’s main circuitry.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026
Human beings, it is often said, are hardwired for narrative, and theater taps into Mariela’s brain circuitry in a way nothing else ever has.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
