voltmeter
Americannoun
noun
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An instrument used for measuring the difference in voltage between two points in an electric circuit. Voltmeters typically make use of an ammeter that measures current flow across a known resistance inside the voltmeter; direct-current voltages can then be determined by Ohm's law. Digital voltmeters employ A/D converters to provide the numerical value of the voltage displayed.
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Compare ohmmeter
Etymology
Origin of voltmeter
Vocabulary lists containing voltmeter
Electrical Engineering
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Engineering - Middle School
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Engineering - High School
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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.
A voltmeter in the external circuit allows measurement of the potential difference between the two half-cells.
From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019
Suppose you want 10 V to produce a full- scale deflection of a voltmeter containing a 25-Ω galvanometer with a 50-µA sensitivity.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
Very little current flows through the voltmeter if its resistance is a few orders of magnitude greater than the device, and so the circuit is not appreciably affected.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
This voltmeter would not be useful for voltages less than about half a volt, because the meter deflection would be small and difficult to read accurately.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
We read the voltmeter in the plate circuit and the ammeter in that circuit.
From Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son by Mills, John
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.
