watt

\ ˈwät

Definition of watt

(Entry 1 of 2)

: the absolute meter-kilogram-second unit of power equal to the work done at the rate of one joule per second or to the power produced by a current of one ampere across a potential difference of one volt : ¹/₇₄₆ horsepower

Watt

biographical name

\ ˈwät

Definition of Watt (Entry 2 of 2)

James 1736–1819 Scottish inventor

Examples of watt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Stefano Faita’s million-watt smile is recognizable to most Quebecers with cable TV and a kitchen—and even those with neither. — Fortune, "How This Famous Canadian Chef Is Hoping to Make it Big in Texas," 15 Sep. 2019 According to the photo seen below, compiled with filings from the FCC, the Switch Lite uses a 13.6 watt-hour (Wh) battery, which is actually 16 percent smaller than the 16Wh battery in the regular Switch. — Cameron Faulkner, The Verge, "Nintendo Switch Lite FCC filings confirm a smaller battery, new processor, and Odin fixation," 5 Aug. 2019 According to the 1993 World Almanac, the entire human race used energy at a rate of 1013 watts in 1990, a rate less than 20 percent of the power of a hurricane. — Fox News, "'Nuke hurricanes': Scientists explain why nuclear bombs and hurricanes don’t mix," 26 Aug. 2019 Instead of a few hundred watts of power, therefore, a small satellite might be able to have as much as five to eight times that amount to work with. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "NASA seeks to break the “tyranny of launch” with in-space manufacturing," 29 July 2019 To get the same brightness as an old-school 100 watt bulb, pick up a 1,600 lumen version. — Kathryn O’shea-evans, WSJ, "Goodbye, Showy Chandeliers. Hello, Low-Key Lighting That Transforms Rooms," 25 Jan. 2019 At a high level, government and private R&D spending contributed the most to cost-per-watt declines for solar panels since 1980. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "How the falling cost of solar panels can teach us to make new tech affordable," 26 Nov. 2018 For the first time, the new Pixels will support wireless charging (at up to 10 watts), and Google is introducing its own charging stand — the Pixel Stand — as an optional accessory. — Chris Welch, The Verge, "Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL announced with bigger screens and best cameras yet," 9 Oct. 2018

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

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More Definitions for watt

watt

noun

English Language Learners Definition of watt

: a unit for measuring electrical power

See the full definition for watt in the English Language Learners Dictionary

watt

noun

\ ˈwät

Kids Definition of watt

: a unit for measuring electric power

watt

noun

\ ˈwät

Medical Definition of watt

: the absolute mks unit of power equal to the work done at the rate of one joule per second or to the power produced by a current of one ampere across a potential difference of one volt : ¹/₇₄₆ horsepower

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