Wheatstone bridge

or Wheatstone's bridge

noun Electricity.

a circuit for measuring an unknown resistance by comparing it with known resistances.

Compare bridge¹(def 9), null method.

Origin of Wheatstone bridge

First recorded in 1870–75; named after C. Wheatstone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for wheatstone bridge

Wheatstone bridge

noun

a device for determining the value of an unknown resistance by comparison with a known standard resistance

Word Origin for Wheatstone bridge

C19: named after Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802–75), British physicist and inventor

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