electric current

American  

noun

Electricity.

1. the time rate of flow of electric charge, in the direction that a positive moving charge would take and having magnitude equal to the quantity of charge per unit time: measured in amperes.

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electric current British  

noun

1. another name for current

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current, electric ¹ Cultural  

1. The flow of electrical charge, usually electrons. (See Benjamin Franklin.)

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current, electric ² Cultural  

1. The flow of large numbers of electrons through a conductor. (See alternating current, conduction, and direct current.)

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Etymology

Origin of electric current

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Smelters dissolve refined bauxite, or alumina, in a solution and jolt it with an electric current to chemically separate the aluminum from oxygen.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

If it’s any smaller than that, the electric current flowing through the chip just won’t stay in its lanes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

What made that possible was a “pickup,” essentially a magnet mounted under the strings that turned vibrations into an electric current that connects to an amplifier.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

As the light reflects back and forth, it interacts with atoms energized by an electric current.

From Science Daily • Jan. 17, 2026

We walked on in edgy silence, tension humming through us like an electric current.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs