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universal motor

American  

noun

  1. a series-wound motor, of one-half horsepower or less, using alternating or direct current.

universal motor British  

noun

  1. an electric motor capable of working on either direct current or single-phase alternating current at approximately the same speed and output

"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

Etymology

Origin of universal motor

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Researchers have used laser-powered 'optical tweezers' to reveal a universal motor mechanism used by viruses for packaging their DNA into infectious particles.

From Science Daily • Nov. 21, 2023

This is the universal motor, which philosophy is searching for, which religion strengthens, which egotism supplants, and whose place pure reason never can fill.

From What is Property? by Proudhon, P.-J. (Pierre-Joseph)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.