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
This arrangement can be used with direct-current circuits only.
Motion Picture Operation, Stage Electrics and Illusions|Henry C. Horstmann
Now of all machines perhaps the most docile and easily managed is the direct-current electric motor.
Marvels of Scientific Invention|Thomas W. Corbin
Direct-current impulses sent out by the dispatcher operate these magnets, one of which is slow and the other quick-acting.
Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2|Kempster Miller

The positive electrode in the direct-current arc is consumed approximately twice as fast as the negative electrode.
Motion Picture Operation, Stage Electrics and Illusions|Henry C. Horstmann
The alternating-current arc is much noisier than the direct-current arc, but with very high frequencies this noise ceases.
Motion Picture Operation, Stage Electrics and Illusions|Henry C. Horstmann

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.