Main Entry: watt

Pronunciation: \ˈwät\

Function: noun

: the absolute mks unit of power equal to the work done at the rate of one joule per second or to the power produced by a current of one ampere across a potential difference of one volt : ¹⁄₇₄₆ horsepower

Watt, James (1736–1819), British engineer and inventor. Watt's steam engine played a major role in the coming of the Industrial Revolution and came to be used in paper mills, flour mills, cotton mills, iron mills, distilleries, canals, and waterworks. At the end of the 19th century the International Electrical Congress named the watt, the unit of electrical power, in his honor.