unipolar

[yoo-nuh-poh-ler]

adjective

Also homopolar. Physics. having or pertaining to a single magnetic or electric pole.
Anatomy. of or relating to a nerve cell in spinal and cranial ganglia in which the incoming and outgoing processes fuse outside the cell body.

Origin of unipolar

First recorded in 1805–15; uni- + polar

Related formsu·ni·po·lar·i·ty

[yoo-nuh-poh-lar-i-tee, -puh-] /ˌyu nə poʊˈlær ɪ ti, -pə-/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for unipolar

Contemporary Examples of unipolar

But the idea that the United States must maintain its hegemonic status in a unipolar world—on the right, that has staying power.
Dick Cheney’s Awfulness Is Here to Stay
Michael Tomasky
July 15, 2014
The “unipolar moment” that might have described America when the Berlin Wall fell down is long over.
We're Handling China All Wrong
Jeffrey E. Garten
February 17, 2010

Historical Examples of unipolar

Unipolar spots are very seldom observed without some indication of the characteristics of bipolar groups.
Astronomy
David Todd
The bipolar spot seems to be the dominant type, and the unipolar type a variant of it.
Astronomy
David Todd
Burger showed that all ganglion cells are unipolar, without membranes.
Journal of Entomology and Zoology, September 1917
Various
The next morphological category may be spoken of as unipolar symmetry.
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, October 1879
Various
But unipolar symmetry with diverging outgrowths leads us to the next category which may be called radial symmetry.
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, October 1879
Various

British Dictionary definitions for unipolar

unipolar

adjective

of, concerned with, or having a single magnetic or electric pole
(of a nerve cell) having a single process
(of a transistor) utilizing charge carriers of one polarity only, as in a field-effect transistor
(of nervous depression) occurring without accompanying bouts of mania
dominated by one superpower, esp the United StatesSee bipolar

Derived Formsunipolarity (ˌjuːnɪpəʊˈlærɪtɪ), 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

Word Origin and History for unipolar

adj.

1812, from uni- + polar.

unipolar in Medicine

unipolar

[yōō′nĭ-pō′lər]

Having a single fibrous process. Used of a neuron.
Situated at only one extremity of a cell.

Related formsu′ni•po•lar′i•ty (-pō-lăr′ĭ-tē, -pə-) n.