electric current

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.

electric current

noun

1. another name for current

current, electric

¹

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

current, electric

²

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of current, electric¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

These moving, electrically conductive materials generate electric currents that produce magnetic fields -- together forming most of Earth's overall magnetic field.

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The BBC reported in February the supermarkets were displaying posters and video screens showing devices which create a nicotine-containing vapour by heating tobacco with an electric current.

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"My heart was beating out of my chest. Then I felt something like an electric current going through my entire body," he said.

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Induction occurs when the magnetic field of another active line nearby induces an electric current in the unconnected line.

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All lithium-ion batteries work roughly the same way: Cells are clustered inside the battery casing, and lithium ions move between the electrodes in each cell, generating an electric current.

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