alternating current

noun

Definition of alternating current

: an electric current that reverses its direction at regularly recurring intervals —abbreviation AC

Examples of alternating current in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Edison's propaganda machine pumped out hundreds of flyers and pamphlets on the dangers of alternating current, even electrocuting small animals in front of newspaper reporters. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "AC/DC: It’s Tesla duking it out with Edison in The Current War trailer," 27 June 2019 All across the United States, the power grid operates at 60 hertz, its innumerable tributaries of alternating current synchronizing of their own accord. — Quanta Magazine, "Scientists Discover Exotic New Patterns of Synchronization," 4 Apr. 2019 In one membrane, the wire had an alternating current applied to periodically heat it. — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "Edge on cooling from nanostructure beats physical limit," 11 Sep. 2018 Financial naiveté: The industrialist George Westinghouse financed the building of Tesla’s motor and alternating current system, buying Tesla’s patents in exchange for a lucrative royalty agreement. — John F. Wasik, WSJ, "Lessons From Tesla (the Man, Not the Car)," 14 Sep. 2018 As demand increases, the line frequency of the electrical grid—the oscillation of alternating current over the wire—decreases. — Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, "Just say no: Wi-Fi-enabled appliance botnet could bring power grid to its knees," 17 Aug. 2018 The night before the event, the organizers realized that the hotel's electric supply was direct current and the ranges required alternating current. — Judy Buchenot, Naperville Sun, "Suburban Cooks: Mints go from trash to treasured cookies," 13 July 2018 George Westinghouse was mainly responsible for the U.S.’s adoption of electric power transmission using the alternating current. — Thomas Gryta, WSJ, "Why Thomas Edison Would Not Be Happy About GE’s Latest Deal," 23 May 2018 During the night, workers cut a hole in the hotel's wall, dropped a cable four stories to the street below and then pulled the cable through a manhole to the New York Central Railway, which used alternating current. — Judy Buchenot, Naperville Sun, "Suburban Cooks: Mints go from trash to treasured cookies," 13 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'alternating current.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.