primary cell

noun Electricity.

a cell designed to produce electric current through an electrochemical reaction that is not efficiently reversible, so that the cell when discharged cannot be efficiently recharged by an electric current.

Origin of primary cell

First recorded in 1900–05

Words nearby primary cell

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British Dictionary definitions for primary cell

primary cell

noun

an electric cell that generates an electromotive force by the direct and usually irreversible conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy. It cannot be recharged efficiently by an electric current Also called: voltaic cell Compare secondary cell