static electricity

American  

noun

Electricity.

1. a stationary electric charge built up on an insulating material.

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static electricity Scientific  

1. Electric charge that has accumulated on an object. Static electricity is often created when two objects that are not good electrical conductors are rubbed together, and electrons from one of the objects rub off onto the other. This happens, for example, when combing one's hair or taking off a sweater. Sudden releases of built-up static electricity can take the form of an electric arc.

2. See Note at electric charge

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static electricity Cultural  

1. An electrical charge that accumulates on an object when it is rubbed against another object — for example, the spark that jumps from someone's hand to a doorknob after the person has walked across a rug.

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Etymology

Origin of static electricity

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Factories often wet the floors to reduce static electricity and use wooden tools instead of metal to eliminate the chance of a spark.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025

I had a mortgage calculator on my phone, and I’d rattle off what a monthly payment might be on whatever house we were scheduled to see, the anticipation like static electricity.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2025

Thesefindings are the first example of static electricity being used as a sensory cue in a predator-prey interaction.

From Science Daily • May 24, 2024

Many creatures can accumulate static electricity through friction as they move through their environment, even by flying through the air.

From Science Magazine • May 20, 2024

Other scientists thought that static electricity would cause whatever dust there was to cling to the windows of the spacecraft, blocking the astronauts’ view and causing them to crash on landing.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins