noting or pertaining to atmospheric electricity interfering with radar, radio, the sending and receiving of wireless messages, etc.
Physics. acting by mere weight without producing motion: static pressure.
Economics. pertaining to fixed relations, or different combinations of fixed quantities: static population.
Computers. (of data storage, processing, or programming) unaffected by the passage of time or the presence or absence of power: A static website contains Web pages with fixed content that does not change as the user interacts with it.
noun
Electricity.
static or atmospheric electricity.
interference due to such electricity.
Informal. difficulty; trouble: Will your dad give you any static on using the car?
Origin of static
1560–70; < New Latinstaticus < Greekstatikós, equivalent to sta- (stem of histánai to make stand) + -tikos-tic
Related formsstat·i·cal·ly, adverbnon·stat·ic, adjectiveun·stat·ic, adjectiveun·stat·i·cal, adjectiveun·stat·i·cal·ly, adverb
(of a weight, force, or pressure) acting but causing no movement
of or concerned with forces that do not produce movementCompare dynamic (def. 1)
relating to or causing stationary electric charges; electrostatic
of or relating to interference in the reception of radio or television transmissions
of or concerned with statics
sociolcharacteristic of or relating to a society that has reached a state of equilibrium so that no changes are taking place
computing(of a memory) not needing its contents refreshed periodicallyCompare dynamic (def. 5)
noun
random hissing or crackling or a speckled picture caused by the interference of electrical disturbances in the reception of radio or television transmissions
1640s (earlier statical, 1560s), "pertaining to the science of weight and its mechanical effects," from Modern Latin statica, from Greek statikos "causing to stand, skilled in weighing," from stem of histanai "to make to stand, set; to place in the balance, weigh," from PIE root *sta- "stand" (see stet). The sense of "having to do with bodies at rest or with forces that balance each other" is first recorded 1802. Applied to frictional electricity from 1839.
static
n.
"random radio noise," 1912, from static (adj.). Figurative sense of "aggravation, criticism" is attested from 1926.
Distortion or interruption of a broadcast signal, such as crackling or noise in a receiver or specks on a television screen, often produced when background electromagnetic radiation in the atmosphere disturbs signal reception or when there are loose connections in the transmission or reception circuits.
