voltage divider

American  

noun

Electricity.

1. a resistor or series of resistors connected to a voltage source and used to provide voltages that are fractions of that of the source.

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voltage divider British  

noun

1. another name for a potential divider

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voltage divider Scientific  

1. A set of two or more resistors connected in series between an applied voltage, so that the voltage at points between the resistors is a fixed fraction of the applied voltage. Voltage dividers are common in the power supplies of devices such as amplifiers, in which different subcomponents require different voltage levels for their own power supplies.

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Etymology

Origin of voltage divider

First recorded in 1920–25