capacitor
[ kuh-pas-i-ter ]
/ kəˈpæs ɪ tər /
noun Electricity.
a device for accumulating and holding a charge of electricity, consisting of two equally charged conducting surfaces having opposite signs and separated by a dielectric.
Also called
condenser.
Origin of capacitor
First recorded in 1925–30;
capacit(y) +
-or2
Words nearby capacitor
capacitate,
capacitation,
capacitive,
capacitive coupling,
capacitive reactance,
capacitor,
capacity,
capactin,
capaneus,
caparison,
capataz
Example sentences from the Web for capacitor
"Nice job these babies got," commented Gaines as he checked the capacitor circuits.
The Small World of M-75 |Ed M. Clinton, Jr.
British Dictionary definitions for capacitor
capacitor
/ (kəˈpæsɪtə) /
noun
a device for accumulating electric charge, usually consisting of two conducting surfaces separated by a dielectric
Former name: condenser
Scientific definitions for capacitor
capacitor
[ kə-păs′ĭ-tər ]
An electrical device consisting of two conducting plates separated by an electrical insulator (the dielectric), designed to hold an electric charge. Charge builds up when a voltage is applied across the plates, creating an electric field between them. Current can flow through a capacitor only as the voltage across it is changing, not when it is constant. Capacitors are used in power supplies, amplifiers, signal processors, oscillators, and logic gates. Compare induction coil resistor.