Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

direct current

noun

Definition of direct current

  1. :  an electric current flowing in one direction only and substantially constant in value —abbreviation DC

See direct current defined for English-language learners

See direct current defined for kids

Read the Latest from M-W

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
image1489982902
Devilish Words
steve-bannon
Trending: Bannon: One of Us is Going to be a 'Hegemon'

First Known Use of direct current

1849

DIRECT CURRENT Defined for English Language Learners

direct current

noun

Definition of direct current for English Language Learners

  • : an electric current that is flowing in one direction only

DIRECT CURRENT Defined for Kids

direct current

noun

Definition of direct current for Students

  1. :  an electric current flowing in one direction only

Medical Dictionary

direct current

noun

Medical Definition of direct current

  1. :  an electric current flowing in one direction only and substantially constant in value—abbreviation DC

Learn More about direct current

  1. Spanish Central: Translation of direct current Nglish: Translation of direct current for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about direct current

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up direct current? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

waif

play

an extremely thin woman

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  2. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  3. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

  4. bereft "Lacking something needed, wanted, or expected"

  5. impanel "To choose people to serve on a jury"

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

direct current

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

  • time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
  • Which came first?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

watercolor-squares
We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square

It's about (you? your?) having your say.

image1489982902
Devilish Words

Don't blame a word use error on the devil.

alt-599492594f435
How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

dog-covering-face
Don't Let Reading This Be Another 'Coulda' 'Shoulda' 'Woulda'

PSA: They're three separate words.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Dictionary Devil
Dictionary Devil

The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?

Play the game