watt

noun \ ˈwät \

|Updated on: 11 Jul 2018

Definition of watt

: 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

See watt defined for English-language learners

See watt defined for kids

Recent Examples of watt from the Web

All month long, the HSO plants itself outdoors, enlists some hi-watt stars and beams sound waves into the night air.

— michael hamad, courant.com, "July Is A Huge Month For HSO POPS! Fans. Here’s Why.," 28 June 2018
Pour your beverage of choice, don your jammies, put another watt on the fake electric fireplace and just watch.

— chuck yarborough, cleveland.com, "60th Grammy Awards: The show will be a spectacle ... but the awards are meaningless: Chuck Yarborough," 28 Jan. 2018
That will reduce global prices 35 percent, to 24 cents a watt by yearend.

— chris martin, Bloomberg.com, "China's Solar Cutback Wiping Out Trump Bump for First Solar," 6 June 2018
This equation gives you a value in watts, but that’s easy to convert to other units like calories per hour.

— alex hutchinson, Outside Online, "The Ultimate Backpacking Calorie Estimator," 6 June 2018
Despite the inherently short shelf-life of an It restaurant, Mr. Chows has, for half a decade, lured high-watt stars to the restaurant's outposts from Manhattan’s 57th Street to Miami's Collins Avenue.

— lilah ramzi, Vogue, "After 50 Years Running a Restaurant Empire, Michael Chow Reflects on Noodles, Birthdays, and the Magic of Details," 23 Feb. 2018
Sometimes her neighbors leave their holiday lights on all night, but those were usually the measly displays, nothing that would consume less than 20,000 watts would win.

— chicago tribune, chicagotribune.com, "Algren Award finalist: "Nothing Less Than 20,000 Watts" by Susan Finch," 2 June 2018
Class 1 e-bikes have motors of up to 750 watts that cut off when the rider tops 20 mph.

— ted slowik, Daily Southtown, "Slowik: Electric bikes poised to make inroads in the Southland," 30 May 2018
The researchers measured their efficiency while running at 8:00 mile pace and cycling at 200 watts.

— alex hutchinson, Outside Online, "Training Makes Runners More Efficient, but Not Cyclists," 30 Apr. 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.

Origin and Etymology of watt

James Watt †1819

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1882

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Watt

biographical name \ ˈwät \

Definition of Watt

James 1736–1819 Scottish inventor

WATT Defined for English Language Learners

watt

noun

Definition of watt for English Language Learners

: a unit for measuring electrical power

WATT Defined for Kids

watt

noun \ ˈwät \

Definition of watt for Students

: a unit for measuring electric power

Medical Dictionary

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

Biographical Note for watt

Watt, James (1736–1819), British engineer and inventor. Watt's steam engine played a major role in the coming of the Industrial Revolution and came to be used in paper mills, flour mills, cotton mills, iron mills, distilleries, canals, and waterworks. At the end of the 19th century the International Electrical Congress named the watt, the unit of electrical power, in his honor.