watt

¹

[wot]

noun

1. the standard unit of power in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one joule per second and equal to the power in a circuit in which a current of one ampere flows across a potential difference of one volt. W, w.

Watt

²

[wot]

noun

1. James, 1736–1819, Scottish engineer and inventor.

Watt

¹

/ wɒt /

noun

1. James. 1736–1819, Scottish engineer and inventor. His fundamental improvements to the steam engine led to the widespread use of steam power in industry

watt

²

/ wɒt /

noun

1. W. the derived SI unit of power, equal to 1 joule per second; the power dissipated by a current of 1 ampere flowing across a potential difference of 1 volt. 1 watt is equivalent to 1.341 × 10 ^–3 horsepower

watt

¹

1. The SI derived unit used to measure power, equal to one joule per second. In electricity, a watt is equal to current (in amperes) multiplied by voltage (in volts).

Watt

²

1. British engineer and inventor who patented a much improved version of the steam engine (1769) and devised the unit of horsepower. The watt unit of power is named for him.

watt

1. The basic unit of power, named after the eighteenth-century Scottish inventor James Watt.

Word History and Origins

Origin of watt¹

First recorded in 1882; named after J. Watt

Word History and Origins

Origin of watt¹

C19: named after James _Watt

Example Sentences

Yet, the human brain accomplishes this remarkable learning while consuming only about 20 watts of power, compared to the megawatts required by today's supercomputers.

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“The idea of having to use a broadcast transmitter of 50,000 watts is early 20th century technology,” he said.

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Performing a task such as writing a story uses only about 20 watts of power in the human brain, whereas a large language model can require more than a megawatt to accomplish the same thing.

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I handed her the hydrangea and she immediately smiled and the entire historic, high-ceilinged ticketing concourse lighted up 1,000 watts.

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For cyclists, body weight and watts per kilogram are key to how they perform.

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