Edison

American  

[ed-uh-suhn] / ˈɛd ə sən /

noun

1. Thomas Alva 1847–1931, U.S. inventor, especially of electrical devices.

2. a township in central New Jersey.

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Edison British  

/ ˈɛdɪsən /

noun

1. Thomas Alva. 1847–1931, US inventor. He patented more than a thousand inventions, including the phonograph, the incandescent electric lamp, the microphone, and the kinetoscope

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Edison Scientific  

/ ĕd′ĭ-sən /

1. American inventor and physicist who took out more than 1,000 patents in his lifetime. His inventions include the telegraph (1869), microphone (1877), and light bulb (1879). He also designed the first power plant (1881–82), making possible the widespread distribution of electricity. During World War I, Edison worked on a number of military devices, including flamethrowers, periscopes, and torpedoes.

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Example Sentences

The lives and legacies of Carnegie, Edison, Ford, and Jobs all tell the same story: The U.S. is the world’s best launchpad for groundbreaking entrepreneurs and scalers of new technology.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

Edison 8, Marina 6: Andy Van Den Eynden finished with two hits and four RBIs for Edison.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

“These investments are essential to keeping the system reliable and as affordable as possible over the long term,” said Drew Maloney, president and CEO of the utility trade group Edison Electric Institute.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

In his downtime he would travel by horse and buggy across Pennsylvania and neighboring states with what he called his "exhibition": a new-fangled Edison phonograph, a magic lantern slide projector and later on, movies.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

Then, within another half hour, Edison Elementary clinches the third round with a score of eighty.

From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper