direct current

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noun

Electricity. an electric current of constant direction, having a magnitude that does not vary or varies only slightly. Abbreviation: dc

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Compare alternating current.

Origin of direct current

First recorded in 1885–90

OTHER WORDS FROM direct current

di·rect-cur·rent, adjective

Words nearby direct current

direct broadcast satellite, direct characterization, direct cinema, direct cost, direct coupling, direct current, direct debit, direct deposit, direct-dial, direct discourse, direct distance dialing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use direct current in a sentence

Among them, in the early 1960s, was the development of a defibrillator that used direct current to reestablish a normal heartbeat when an arrhythmia occurs.
Bernard Lown, physician who rallied doctors against nuclear war, dies at 99|Emily Langer|February 18, 2021|Washington Post
Current and former intelligence officials have said North Korea has long been a priority target for American spies.
Was Sony Hit With a Second Hack?|Shane Harris|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
One of its top officials is the current minister of the interior in Baghad.
What an Iranian Funeral Tells Us About the Wars in Iraq|IranWire|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
She ultimately ditched JSwipe after about a week and found her current, non-Jewish, boyfriend on OkCupid.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Judging from current figures, there would be a substantial demand for this option, too.
Men Will Someday Have Kids Without Women|Samantha Allen|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In 2009, Lee Daniels announced that he would direct Selma and that Liam Neeson would play President Lyndon Johnson.
Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’|Gary May|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Each religion claims that its own Bible is the direct revelation of God, and is the only true Bible teaching the only true faith.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
But he marred it all by a temper so ungovernable that in Paris there was current a byword, "Explosive as Garnache."
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
The steamboat of 1809 and the steam locomotive of 1830 were the direct result of what had gone before.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
That—and no existing institution and no current issue—is the primary concern of the present age.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
It was a direct lie to tell the Austrian commander that an armistice had been arranged and the bridge ceded to the French.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison

British Dictionary definitions for direct current

direct current

noun

a continuous electric current that flows in one direction only, without substantial variation in magnitudeAbbreviation: DC Compare alternating current

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 direct current

direct current

[ dĭ-rĕkt′ ]

An electric current that moves in one direction with constant strength. Batteries are a source of direct current. Direct current is not used for long-distance power transmission because it is difficult to step up the voltage to a level that is efficient for energy transfer and then to step the voltage back down again for safe domestic use. Compare alternating current. See Notes at current Tesla.

Cultural definitions for direct current

direct current

The electric current (see also current) in which the electrons flow in one direction only. (Compare alternating current (AC).)

notes for direct current

DC is usually supplied by batteries.