excitation

[ ek-sahy-tey-shuhn, -si- ]
See synonyms for excitation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act of exciting.

  2. the state of being excited.

  1. Electricity.

    • the application of voltage to an electric device, as an electron-tube circuit, an antenna, or a dynamotor, often for producing a magnetic field in the device.

    • the voltage applied.

  2. Physics. a process in which a molecule, atom, nucleus, or particle is excited.

  3. Also called drive. Electronics. the varying voltage applied to the control electrode of a vacuum tube.

Origin of excitation

1
1350–1400; Middle English excitacioun<Late Latin excitātiōn- (stem of excitātiō), equivalent to Latin excitāt(us) (past participle of excitāre;see excite) + -iōn--ion

Other words from excitation

  • pre·ex·ci·ta·tion, noun
  • su·per·ex·ci·ta·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for excitation

excitation

/ (ˌɛksɪˈteɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the act or process of exciting or state of being excited

  2. a means of exciting or cause of excitement

    • the current in a field coil of a generator, motor, etc, or the magnetizing current in a transformer

    • (as modifier): an excitation current

  1. the action of a stimulus on an animal or plant organ, inducing it to respond

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 excitation

excitation

[ ĕk′sī-tāshən ]


  1. The activity produced in an organ, tissue, or cell of the body that is caused by stimulation, especially by a nerve or neuron. Compare inhibition.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.