solar cell

noun

: a photovoltaic cell used as a power source

Examples of solar cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Blue Ghost operated for two weeks as designed, finally losing power when the sun set on March 16, depleting its solar cells of their power source. Brett Tingley, Space.com, 24 June 2025 Shockley, for instance, worked at Bell Labs, a mid-century hub that invented the modern solar cell and the first portable operating system. S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 16 June 2025 And now, scientists have shown how lunar regolith can be turned into solar cells. Keith Cooper, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2025 The global metals company Umicore recycles germanium from manufacturing scrap, fiber optic cables, solar cells, and infrared optical devices at an optical materials facility in Quapaw, Oklahoma, as well as in Belgium. Maddie Stone, WIRED, 15 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for solar cell

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of solar cell was in 1955

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Cite this Entry

“Solar cell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solar%20cell. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

solar cell

noun
: a photoelectric cell that converts sunlight into electrical energy and is used as a power source

More from Merriam-Webster on solar cell

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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