rectifier

[ rek-tuh-fahy-er ]

/ ˈrɛk təˌfaɪ ər /

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noun

a person or thing that rectifies.

Electricity. an apparatus in which current flows more readily in one direction than the other, for changing an alternating current into a direct current.

the apparatus that in distillation separates the most volatile material by condensing it; condenser.

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Origin of rectifier

First recorded in 1605–15; rectify + -er¹

Words nearby rectifier

rectenna, recti, rectifiable, rectification, rectified spirit, rectifier, rectify, rectilinear, rectirostral, rectitude, rectitudinous

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

How to use rectifier in a sentence

Soon, the stores were filled with battery-less radio sets using rectifier tubes.
Whatever Happened to the "B" Battery?|Megan McArdle|December 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The mercury arc rectifier is a device for changing an alternating current into a direct current.
Physics|Willis Eugene Tower
The English rectifier endeavours to imitate this by the addition of a little sugar.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
The mercury-arc rectifier proper consists of a glass bulb containing vacuum and a small amount of mercury.
Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2|Kempster Miller

The circuit of a mercury-arc rectifier charging outfit is shown in Fig. 415.
Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2|Kempster Miller
Where no direct current supply is available, a motor-generator or a rectifier must be installed.
The Automobile Storage Battery|O. A. Witte

British Dictionary definitions for rectifier

rectifier

/ (ˈrɛktɪˌfaɪə) /

noun

an electronic device, such as a semiconductor diode or valve, that converts an alternating current to a direct current by suppression or inversion of alternate half cycles

chem an apparatus for condensing a hot vapour to a liquid in distillation; condenser

a thing or person that rectifies

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 rectifier

rectifier

[ rĕk′tə-fī′ər ]

An electrical device that converts alternating current to direct current. Rectifiers are most often made of a combination of diodes, which allow current to pass in one direction only. Compare converter transformer.