capacitor

noun

ca·​pac·​i·​tor kə-ˈpa-sə-tər How to pronounce capacitor (audio)
: a device that is used to store electrical energy

Examples of capacitor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Even the smallest components — like resistors and capacitors, which are critical to controlling electrical currents in smartphones — often have winding production journeys that cross multiple borders numerous times before final assembly. Steven Dudash, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025 Selling his leftover parts, Stordahl found an untapped market of engineers, students and hobbyists who wanted to buy just a handful of capacitors or circuits from what could be a reel of 1,000 or 5,000. Alina Selyukh, NPR, 24 Apr. 2025 Commonwealth Fusion Systems Besides manpower, fusion projects need a huge amount of materials, such as high power magnets, specific metals, capacitors and power semiconductors. Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 16 Mar. 2025 In the 1940s and ’50s, room-sized mainframe computers relied on thousands of vacuum tubes, resisters, capacitors and more. Gerui Wang, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for capacitor

Word History

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of capacitor was in 1925

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Cite this Entry

“Capacitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capacitor. Accessed 7 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

capacitor

noun
ca·​pac·​i·​tor kə-ˈpas-ət-ər How to pronounce capacitor (audio)
: a device for storing electric charge

called also condenser

Medical Definition

capacitor

noun
ca·​pac·​i·​tor kə-ˈpas-ət-ər How to pronounce capacitor (audio)
: a device giving capacitance and usually consisting of conducting plates or foils separated by thin layers of dielectric (as air or mica) with the plates on opposite sides of the dielectric layers oppositely charged by a source of voltage and the electrical energy of the charged system stored in the polarized dielectric

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