Did you know?
The word electric is derived from the Greek word for amber, elektron. It is only in modern times that practical use has been made of electricity, but some electrical phenomena have been known since antiquity. Certain philosophers of ancient Greece found that by rubbing amber with a piece of cloth, they could enable the amber to pick up light objects, such as feathers. In the 17th century, students of natural science began to discover that other natural phenomena were related to the effect of friction on amber.
Synonyms
Examples of electric in a Sentence
The Editors, National Review, 26 Apr. 2024
Rolls-Royce Even zealots of the electric vehicle will tell you that public charging can be a fraught affair.
—Tim Stevens, Robb Report, 26 Apr. 2024
This comes at a time that Indiana is seeing a record investment in electric vehicle production from the industry.
—The Indianapolis Star, 25 Apr. 2024
Homeowners pay all these bills—mortgage, electric, heat—every month.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2024
Even Jon’s supposedly electric stage presence is more talked about than shown.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2024
Bush was electric and transcendent, playing 11 NFL seasons and winning a Super Bowl ring with the Saints to close 2009.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2024
Just as gas stations were necessary to make the highway system usable, electric charging stations are a key hurdle to wider EV adoption.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024
That includes an electric torque vectoring system between the two axles, as well as an electronic rear differential.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 24 Apr. 2024
Morgan Korn, ABC News, 13 Apr. 2024
The Dutch oven can be used on electric, induction, and gas stovetops and in ovens up to 500 degrees.
—Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
Other cities in South Florida have larger bus fleets that will take more time to retire to electric, including in Miami-Dade.
—Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2024
The 10 albums below not only attest to the amazing country music made by Black singers, but also demonstrate how wide-ranging country can be—from the mainstream to the countercultural, from the acoustic to the electric to the electronic.
—Stephen Deusner, SPIN, 1 Apr. 2024
In August 2021, after the president announced an ambitious target that half of vehicles sold in the country by 2030 would be either battery electric, fuel-cell electric or plug-in hybrid, Biden test-drove an electric Jeep on the White House grounds.
—Ella Nilsen, CNN, 20 Mar. 2024
Reality:Toyota has just one EV on the market in the U.S., while Honda’s just beginning to sell its first pure electric.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
EVs cost more EVs are still on the expensive end of the auto market in America, and that’s kept demand fairly limited to people who are willing to pay a premium for electric.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
Seven out of the 12 cleanest rides for 2024 are full electric, which is up from five last year and three models in 2020.
—Jim Gorzelany, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'electric.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to electric
Dictionary Entries Near electric
Cite this Entry
“Electric.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/electric. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
electric
1 of 2 adjective
electric
2 of 2 nounAdjective
from scientific Latin electricus "produced from amber by friction," derived from earlier Latin electrum "amber," derived from Greek ēlektron (same meaning); so called because static electricity was first discovered by the friction produced by rubbing a piece of amber
Medical Definition
electric
adjective
Share