potential energy

noun

: the energy that a piece of matter has because of its position or nature or because of the arrangement of parts

Examples of potential energy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While earthquakes slightly reduce the Earth’s elastic potential energy and increase its temperature, these effects are minor compared to the planet’s internal heat flow. —Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025

Critics argued that warm inflation would have effectively burned itself out, prematurely churning out interacting particles that would have sapped its potential energy. —Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2025

Aristotle, for one, placed the distinction between actual and potential energy at the core of his thinking. —Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2025

The study is relevant to research at facilities like the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where inertial confinement fusion is studied as a potential energy source. —Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 24 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for potential energy

• bioenergy

Kids Definition

potential energy

noun

: the amount of energy a thing (as a weight raised to a height or a coiled spring) has because of its position or because of the arrangement of its parts

Medical Definition

potential energy

noun

: the energy that a piece of matter has because of its position or because of the arrangement of parts