unipolar

[ yoo-nuh-poh-ler ]

/ ˌyu nəˈpoʊ lər /

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.

Nearby words

unipennate, unipersonal, unipetalous, uniplanar, unipod, unipolar, unipolar lead, unipolar neuron, uniport, unipotent, unipotential

Origin of unipolar

First recorded in 1805–15; uni- + polar

Related forms

u·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. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Burger showed that all ganglion cells are unipolar, without membranes.
Journal of Entomology and Zoology, September 1917|Various
When the blastula is oval and free-swimming the inner mass is formed by unipolar immigration from the hinder pole.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 2|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
The bipolar spot seems to be the dominant type, and the unipolar type a variant of it.
Astronomy|David Todd
The next morphological category may be spoken of as unipolar symmetry.
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, October 1879|Various

British Dictionary definitions for unipolar

unipolar

/ (ˌjuːnɪˈpəʊlə) /

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 Forms

unipolarity (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

Medicine definitions for unipolar

unipolar

[ yōō′nĭ-pō′lər ]

n.

Having a single fibrous process. Used of a neuron.

Situated at only one extremity of a cell.

Related forms

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