anode
Americannoun
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the electrode or terminal by which current enters an electrolytic cell, voltaic cell, battery, etc.
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the negative terminal of a voltaic cell or battery.
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the positive terminal, electrode, or element of an electron tube or electrolytic cell.
noun
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the positive electrode in an electrolytic cell
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Also called (esp US): plate. the positively charged electrode in an electronic valve
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the negative terminal of a primary cell Compare cathode
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The positive electrode in an electrolytic cell, toward which negatively charged particles are attracted. The anode has a positive charge because it is connected to the positively charged end of an external power supply.
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The positively charged element of an electrical device, such as a vacuum tube or a diode, to which electrons are attracted.
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The negative electrode of a voltaic cell, such as a battery. The anode gets its negative charge from the chemical reaction that happens inside the battery, not from an external source.
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Compare cathode
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of anode
1825–35; < Greek ánodos way up, equivalent to an- an- 3 + hodós way, road
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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.
However, the analyst lowers his 2026-2027 earnings estimates on Press Metal by 3%-5% after revising down aluminum price assumptions and amid higher carbon anode costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The team paired the new catalyst with a nickel iron anode and found that the system performed better than a leading state-of-the-art cathode, including one based on PGM materials.
From Science Daily ● May 18, 2026
There is an active later, which captures energy of a certain wavelength from sunlight, and uses this energy to separate electrons and "electron holes" into a cathode and anode.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2024
Professor Soojin Park stressed: "We used a micro-silicon anode, yet, we have a stable battery. This research brings us closer to a real high-energy-density lithium-ion battery system."
From Science Daily ● Feb. 7, 2024
My unexpected success came from using a powerful rotating anode X-ray tube which had just been assembled in the Cavendish.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
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.
