capacitor

noun

ca·​pac·​i·​tor kə-ˈpa-sə-tər 

: a device that is used to store electrical energy

Examples of capacitor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Each cluster contained a simple RLC resonator — a resistor, capacitor, and inductor, a combination that creates an oscillating electrical signal at a particular frequency. — Quanta Magazine, 15 July 2026

Many of them gloss over the scientific details with just enough information to ground you in the world and give it an air of plausibility, like Doc Brown’s flux capacitor or The Doctor’s TARDIS. — Amy Tordoff, PEOPLE, 14 July 2026

One example is a lithium-ion capacitor hybrid system that can activate instantly at temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius) while delivering continuous power. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2026

The two developed binary arithmetic, regenerative capacitor memory and the separation of memory and processing functions for their computing device, all of which paved the way for the modern computer. — Norah Judson, Des Moines Register, 9 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

capacitor

noun

ca·​pac·​i·​tor kə-ˈpas-ət-ər 

: a device for storing electric charge

called also condenser

Medical Definition

capacitor

noun

ca·​pac·​i·​tor kə-ˈpas-ət-ər 

: 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