electronics
Americannoun
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(used with a singular verb) the science dealing with the development and application of devices and systems involving the flow of electrons in a vacuum, in gaseous media, and in semiconductors.
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(used with a plural verb) electronic devices, circuits, or systems developed through electronics.
Can you get through the day without using your phone or other electronics?
noun
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(functioning as singular) the science and technology concerned with the development, behaviour, and applications of electronic devices and circuits
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(functioning as plural) the circuits and devices of a piece of electronic equipment
the electronics of a television set
Etymology
Origin of electronics
First recorded in 1905–10; see origin at electronic, -ics
Explanation
Devices that use electricity and electrical components to perform a task — like stereos, TVs, computers, and calculators — are electronics. Unless you live off the grid in a remote place, winding the watch on your wrist and cooking freshly caught fish on your campfire, your life is full of electronics. Kitchen appliances, computers, and televisions are all electronics. You can also use this word for the science of designing circuits using electrical components, or the study of the way electrons behave under various circumstances.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By the 2010s, China had firmly established itself as the world’s largest electronics assembly hub and consumer of semiconductors.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
On commercial flights, the risk from cargo is twofold: passengers who have mistakenly packed a lithium battery in their checked luggage, and retailers shipping electronics without using mandated fire-safe packaging.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
As consumers brace for higher electronics prices, Apple’s pricing power is putting the company on track for an earnings boost amid a global memory crunch.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
That makes it a promising platform for exploring strain tunable two dimensional topological states and could support future advances in spin based electronics and nanoscale devices.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Brilliant and abrasive, Jenkin had diverse interests in linguistics, electronics, mechanics, arithmetic, physics, chemistry, and economics.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
