electrode

noun

elec·trode | \i-ˈlek-ˌtrōd

Definition of electrode

1 : a conductor used to establish electrical contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit

2 : an element in a semiconductor device (such as a transistor) that emits or collects electrons or holes or controls their movements

Examples of electrode in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Applying electrical signals to different electrodes directs the droplets step-by-step through a process that tests the liquid with chemicals or other agents. — Washington Post, "Portable test helps identify refugees at risk of outbreaks," 25 Apr. 2018 Steps toward Reconstruction Bionic hands are mounted adjacent to the original hand onto an arm brace and wired to electrodes that can pick up the candidate's functional forearm nerves through the skin. — Dan Robitzski, Scientific American, "Disabled Hands Successfully Replaced with Bionic Prosthetics," 1 May 2017 To find where her seizures were originating, Nell had an array of tiny electrodes placed directly on the surface of her brain. — Robbie Gonzalez, WIRED, "One Sentence With 7 Meanings Unlocks a Mystery of Human Speech," 28 June 2018 Sleep tests performed in a lab use advanced electrodes and sensors to measure more than a dozen different metrics in addition to breathing, such as brain waves, leg and eye movement, and oxygen levels. — Sarah Gantz, Philly.com, "The high cost of getting a good night's sleep," 6 June 2018 Most new car batteries are rechargeable and use lithium in some form for one of the electrodes, cobalt or carbon for the other, and aluminum oxide for the electrolyte. — Tom Parrett, Newsweek, "Batteries That Will Save the Planet," 13 Dec. 2014 When implanting cochlear implants, Polley explained, surgeons thread electrodes into specific locations along the basilar membrane to target nerves that are sensitive to particular frequencies. — Justin Chen, STAT, "Pulses of light restored hearing in gerbils. Could that lead to higher-tech cochlear implants?," 11 July 2018 If the animals were subject to other stresses—one option is to implant electrodes elsewhere and give them a bit of a shock—this reflex could be sped up and the siphon would get withdrawn for longer periods. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Researchers claim to have transferred a memory between two sea slugs," 16 May 2018 Other recent work involved implanting electrodes in the brains of macaques to learn how neurons responded when the monkeys looked at faces, which gives scientists a better understanding of how humans create face images. — Emily Matchar, Smithsonian, "A New Study Brings Scientists One Step Closer To Mind Reading," 6 Mar. 2018

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