electrode

[ ih-lek-trohd ]

/ ɪˈlɛk troʊd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR electrode ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Electricity.

a conductor, not necessarily metallic, through which a current enters or leaves a nonmetallic medium, as an electrolytic cell, arc generator, vacuum tube, or gaseous discharge tube.

RELATED WORDS

plate, wire

Nearby words

electrocorticography, electrocratic, electrocute, electrocution, electrocyte, electrode, electrode efficiency, electrode potential, electrodeposit, electrodermal, electrodermal audiometry

Origin of electrode

First recorded in 1825–35; electr- + -ode²

Related formsin·ter·e·lec·trode, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for electrode

In some forms of enclosed lamps, the clutch grips the electrode direct.
Motion Picture Operation, Stage Electrics and Illusions|Henry C. Horstmann
The tube is tilted to keep the electrode away from the drawn-out end, which is melted off and sealed.
A Handbook of Laboratory Glass-Blowing|Bernard D. Bolas
That electrode by which the current enters the electrolyte is called the an-ode, while the other is the cath-ode.
The Romance of War Inventions|Thomas W. Corbin
A heavy inner cup 2, together with the diaphragm 3, form an enclosure containing the electrode chamber.
Cyclopedia of Telephony & Telegraphy Vol. 1|Kempster Miller

But on the whole I find it preferable, when using such high frequencies, to employ only one electrode and one connecting wire.
The inventions, researches and writings of Nikola Tesla|Thomas Commerford Martin

British Dictionary definitions for electrode

electrode

/ (ɪˈlɛktrəʊd) /

noun

a conductor through which an electric current enters or leaves an electrolyte, an electric arc, or an electronic valve or tube

an element in a semiconducting device that emits, collects, or controls the movement of electrons or holes

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

Word Origin and History for electrode

electrode

1834, coined by English physicist and chemist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) from electro- + Greek hodos "way" (see cede) on same pattern as anode, cathode.

Medicine definitions for electrode

electrode

[ ĭ-lĕk′trōd′ ]

n.

A solid electric conductor through which an electric current enters or leaves an electrolytic cell or other medium.

A collector or emitter of electric charge or of electric-charge carriers, as in a semiconducting device.

Science definitions for electrode

electrode

[ ĭ-lĕk′trōd′ ]

A conductor through which an electric current enters or leaves a substance (or a vacuum) whose electrical characteristics are being measured, used, or manipulated. Electrodes can be used to detect electrical activity such as brain waves. Terminal points in electrical components such as transistors, diodes, and batteries are electrodes.