capacitor

[ kuh-pas-i-ter ]

noun

, Electricity.

1. 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.

capacitor

/ kəˈpæsɪtə /

noun

1. a device for accumulating electric charge, usually consisting of two conducting surfaces separated by a dielectric Former namecondenser

capacitor

/ kə-păs′ĭ-tər /

1. 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.
2. Compare induction coil

capacitor

1. A device used in electrical circuits . The capacitor stores an electrical charge for short periods of time, and then returns it to the circuit.

Word History and Origins

Origin of capacitor¹

First recorded in 1925–30; capacit(y) + -or ²

Example Sentences

They had several commercial uses, including in transformers and capacitors, oil used in motors and hydraulic systems, cable insulation, oil-based paint, caulking and plastics.

From Los Angeles Times

Then the array of detached coils, capacitors, pins and transistors are sieved, sorted, sliced and diced as they move along a conveyor belt.

From BBC

The trial was fresh in memory when the DMC-12 — equipped with the mysterious “flux capacitor”— served as a time machine in the 1985 hit “Back to the Future,” enshrining it in pop culture.

From Los Angeles Times

Known as piezoelectricity, the ability to trade between mechanical stress and electric charge can be harnessed widely in capacitors, actuators, transducers and sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes for next-generation electronics.

From Science Daily

Moreover, by manipulating the chemical composition of the crystal, valuable electromagnetic properties such as dielectric properties, which finds applications in electronics and capacitors, can be precisely engineered.

From Science Daily