Edison

American  

[ed-uh-suhn] / ˈɛd ə sən /

noun

1. Thomas Alva 1847–1931, U.S. inventor, especially of electrical devices.

2. a township in central New Jersey.

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Edison British  

/ ˈɛdɪsən /

noun

1. Thomas Alva. 1847–1931, US inventor. He patented more than a thousand inventions, including the phonograph, the incandescent electric lamp, the microphone, and the kinetoscope

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Edison Scientific  

/ ĕd′ĭ-sən /

1. American inventor and physicist who took out more than 1,000 patents in his lifetime. His inventions include the telegraph (1869), microphone (1877), and light bulb (1879). He also designed the first power plant (1881–82), making possible the widespread distribution of electricity. During World War I, Edison worked on a number of military devices, including flamethrowers, periscopes, and torpedoes.

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Example Sentences

But, as it happens, that’s what it takes for the company that provided Edison with his glass lightbulbs to once again play a key role in a history-transforming technology.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

Their motion asks the judge to order a judgment in the insurers’ favor that would make Edison liable for the damage under inverse condemnation, a legal doctrine in the state constitution.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

Courts have ruled that the doctrine requires private utilities such as Edison to pay for property they destroy, even if they haven’t been found to have acted negligently.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

The company, which once manufactured lightbulbs for Thomas Edison, has attracted demand from many hyperscalers for its fiber-optic cables, a key connective tissue for AI infrastructure.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Now Mr. Edison says that in a few years he’ll be able to make moving pictures.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman