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potentiometer

[ puh-ten-shee-om-i-ter ]
/ pəˌtɛn ʃiˈɒm ɪ tər /

noun Electricity.

a device for measuring electromotive force or potential difference by comparison with a known voltage.
voltage divider.

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Origin of potentiometer

1880–85; potenti(al) + -o- + -meter

OTHER WORDS FROM potentiometer

po·ten·ti·o·met·ric [puh-ten-shee-uh-me-trik], /pəˌtɛn ʃi əˈmɛ trɪk/, adjective

Words nearby potentiometer

potentiality, potentially, potential well, potentiate, potentilla, potentiometer, potentiometric, potentiometric surface, potentiometric titration, Potenza, potestas
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for potentiometer

British Dictionary definitions for potentiometer

potentiometer
/ (pəˌtɛnʃɪˈɒmɪtə) /

noun

an instrument for determining a potential difference or electromotive force by measuring the fraction of it that balances a standard electromotive force
a device with three terminals, two of which are connected to a resistance wire and the third to a brush moving along the wire, so that a variable potential can be tapped off: used in electronic circuits, esp as a volume control
Sometimes shortened to: pot

Derived forms of potentiometer

potentiometry, noun
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 potentiometer

potentiometer
[ pə-tĕn′shē-ŏm′ĭ-tər ]

A mechanical variable resistor. See more at resistor.
An instrument for measuring an unknown voltage by comparison with a known voltage, such as that of a generator.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.