cathode ray

noun

1
cathode rays plural : the high-speed electrons emitted in a stream from the heated cathode of a vacuum tube
2
: a stream of electrons emitted from the cathode of a vacuum tube
usually used in plural

Examples of cathode ray in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The company produced cathode ray oscilloscopes, which helped finance his experiments with television. IEEE Spectrum, 3 July 2025 At this point, any serious retro gamer knows that a bulky cathode ray tube (CRT) TV provides the most authentic, lag-free experience for game consoles that predate the era of flat-panel HDTVs (i.e,. Ars Technica, 23 Dec. 2024 The cathode rays Crookes observed in his vacuum tubes were as evanescent as any ghost. Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024 Moreover, the electrons have about the same energy as those inside an old-style cathode ray tube television: again, a pittance by particle accelerator standards. Rahul Rao, Popular Science, 2 Nov. 2023 In the United States at least, the cathode ray tube technology that yielded television in the 1950s remained pretty much unchanged from the 1950s until the 2000s. Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 7 Sep. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cathode ray was in 1880

Cite this Entry

“Cathode ray.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cathode%20ray. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

cathode ray

noun
1
: one of the high-speed electrons driven in a stream from the heated cathode of a vacuum tube under the force of a strong electric field
2
: a stream of cathode-ray electrons

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