varistor

American

[va-ris-ter, vuh-] / væˈrɪs tər, və- /

noun

Electricity.

a resistor whose resistance automatically varies in proportion to the voltage of the current through it.

varistor British

/ vəˈrɪstə /

noun

a two-electrode semiconductor device having a voltage-dependent nonlinear resistance Compare varactor

"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 varistor

First recorded in 1940–45; var(iable) + (res)istor

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