oscillator
Americannoun
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Electronics. a circuit that produces an alternating output current of a certain frequency determined by the characteristics of the circuit components.
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a device or machine producing oscillations.
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a person or thing that oscillates.
noun
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a circuit or instrument for producing an alternating current or voltage of a required frequency
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any instrument for producing oscillations
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a person or thing that oscillates
Etymology
Origin of oscillator
1825–35; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin oscillā ( re ) to swing ( see oscillate) + -tor -tor
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.
One well-known example is the "cat state," where an oscillator exists as a superposition of two wave packets moving in opposite directions.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 15, 2026
Its internal state behaves like a qubit, while its motion acts as a quantum harmonic oscillator that can occupy many different motional states.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 15, 2026
The NYSE-based breadth oscillator is now on a sell signal, and the “stocks only” breadth oscillator could follow suit.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
Combining the stochastic oscillator with support and resistance improves results.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
The phenomenon by which protons keep time with the oscillator even as they accelerate came to be known as “resonance.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
