potential energy
noun
: the energy that a piece of matter has because of its position or nature or because of the arrangement of parts
Examples of potential energy in a Sentence
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Inside the hole, that spin makes the ball roll along the cylinder like a mini-pendulum, converting potential energy into spin and then back again.
—
Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Sun pointed out that the resulting batteries demonstrated a potential energy density exceeding 500 watt-hours per kilogram at the cell level, a power level that could enable electric vehicles to achieve a much longer driving range per charge.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2025
Critics argued that warm inflation would have effectively burned itself out, prematurely churning out interacting particles that would have sapped its potential energy.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2025
Aristotle, for one, placed the distinction between actual and potential energy at the core of his thinking.
—Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2025
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Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Sun pointed out that the resulting batteries demonstrated a potential energy density exceeding 500 watt-hours per kilogram at the cell level, a power level that could enable electric vehicles to achieve a much longer driving range per charge.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2025
Critics argued that warm inflation would have effectively burned itself out, prematurely churning out interacting particles that would have sapped its potential energy.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2025
Aristotle, for one, placed the distinction between actual and potential energy at the core of his thinking.
—Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for potential energy
Cite this Entry
“Potential energy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/potential%20energy. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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