potential difference

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noun Electricity.

the difference between the potentials of two points in an electric field.

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Origin of potential difference

First recorded in 1895–1900

Words nearby potential difference

potence, potency, potent, potentate, potential, potential difference, potential divider, potential energy, potential gradient, potentiality, potentially

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use potential difference in a sentence

My conversation with Mahalik led me to ask other scholars about potential differences in how men and women evaluate medical evidence.
Why Is There Such A Gender Gap In COVID-19 Vaccination Rates?|Angelica Puzio (angelicapuzio@gmail.com)|June 22, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
Again, the difference can seem subtle and sound more like splitting hairs, but the difference is important.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The eating disorder field remains divided over the potential efficacy of such measures.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But, as the people of Irving are now discovering, all of this poking and prodding is not without potential consequences.
26 Earthquakes Later, Fracking’s Smoking Gun Is in Texas|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

First, they allow Paul to siphon off attention from whichever potential candidate is making news.
Rand Paul’s Passive-Aggressive Trolling Campaign|Olivia Nuzzi|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The brokers then scout out potential “crew members” who can earn substantial discounts for working the journey.
Ghost Ships of the Mediterranean|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Is the Bible revelation so clear and explicit that no difference of opinion as to its meaning is possible?
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
We accepted the offer, so that they might see the difference between Christianity and their ungodliness.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
And hence the reader can notice the fundamental difference between all other methods and mine.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
The first two figures of the first group are 38, and the first two figures of the second group are 40—a difference of 2.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
We were much alike in our tastes and habits, yet there was enough of difference between us to impart a relish to our friendship.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow

British Dictionary definitions for potential difference

potential difference

noun

the difference in electric potential between two points in an electric field; the work that has to be done in transferring unit positive charge from one point to the other, measured in voltsSymbol: U, Δ V, Δφ Abbreviation: pd Compare electromotive force

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

Scientific definitions for potential difference

potential difference

[ pə-tĕn′shəl ]

The difference, measured in volts, in electric potential between two points, especially two points in an electric circuit.