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voltmeter

American  
[vohlt-mee-ter] / ˈvoʊltˌmi tər /

noun

Electricity.
  1. a calibrated instrument for measuring the potential difference between two points.


voltmeter British  
/ ˈvəʊltˌmiːtə /

noun

  1. an instrument for measuring potential difference or electromotive force

"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

voltmeter Scientific  
/ vōltmē′tər /
  1. 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.

  2. Compare ohmmeter


Etymology

Origin of voltmeter

First recorded in 1880–85; volt 1 + -meter

Vocabulary lists containing voltmeter

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.

Consider what happens if you connect the battery directly to a standard voltmeter as shown in Figure 21.37.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

The uncertainty in this calculation can be considerably smaller than when using a voltmeter directly, but it is not zero.

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

A voltmeter is placed in parallel with the voltage source to receive full voltage and must have a large resistance to limit its effect on the circuit.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Usually we describe this condition by saying that a voltmeter has a high resistance.

From Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son by Mills, John

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