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current

current

70 3.7
A flow of electricity through a wire or circuit
  • noun
  • /ˈkɜːrənt/
  • Specialized
: corriente eléctrica
  • His job was to make sure the current was alive and hot.
  • electrical current
  • electric current
  • voltage and current

He wants to source DC current and DC voltage, right.

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Examples

  • For several hours, an electric current is passed from one end of the gel to the other.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Engineers have known for generations that relatively small electric currents cause painful and uncontrollable muscle contractions.

  • And if I turn this back down, now the current rises again.

  • There will be much higher current flowing through the LED.

  • If you turn on a switch and send a current through a bulb, you get light.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • It turns out we were drawing too much current for this power chip.

  • Electrowinning uses a direct electric current to remove dissolved metal ions from a solution.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Power in watts equals the electrical current multiplied by its voltage.

    Academic text (2008)
  • When jolted with an electrical current, a quartz crystal vibrates at a very specific frequency.

  • There will be much higher current flowing through the LED.

Synonyms

electric current
vscurrent
  • Specialized
19 3.0

A flow of electricity through a wire that carries energy

is the simple idea of flow through a conductor without naming measurement
direct current
vscurrent
  • Specialized
4 3.5

An electric flow that moves steadily in one direction, for example from a battery

is the general flow through a conductor that may be any direction or type
current electricity
vscurrent
  • Specialized
2 3.7

Energy made when charged particles move steadily through a wire to power devices

is the basic flow through a conductor rather than the contrast with static cases
direct electric current
vscurrent
  • Specialized
1 3.6

An electric flow that moves in one direction and does not reverse

is the broader flow idea not limited to a single direction
photocurrent
vscurrent
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A flow of electricity made in a material when light hits it

is the general flow through a conductor not tied to light generation
dynamic electricity
vscurrent
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A flow of electricity, like the current in a wire

is the concrete flow through a conductor rather than the general motion concept
thermionic current
vscurrent
  • Specialized
9.7

An electric flow between two metal parts caused by heat making electrons leave one part

is the plain flow through a conductor without needing emission by heat

Antonyms

static electricity
  • Specialized
12 4.1

An electric charge that builds on a surface when things rub together, causing small shocks or making hair stand

Idioms

To move forward despite strong opposition or many difficulties

Compounds

electric current
  • Specialized
19 3.0

A flow of electricity through a wire that carries energy

ocean current
  • Specialized
11 3.1

A steady movement of sea water in one direction that moves heat around the planet

A fast, powerful flow of water in a river or the sea that pulls people and things away

alternating current
  • Specialized
7 3.4

Electric current that changes direction back and forth

6 3.3

A movement of air from one place to another

current account
  • Specialized
5 6.3

A record of a country's trade in goods and services and money sent to or from other countries

direct current
  • Specialized
4 3.5

An electric flow that moves steadily in one direction, for example from a battery

2 6.0

A strong narrow flow of water moving from the shore out to sea that can pull swimmers away

current electricity
  • Specialized
2 3.7

Energy made when charged particles move steadily through a wire to power devices

1 2.7

A bank record used for everyday payments and cash withdrawals

A flow of air moving through a space, often as a breeze or strong gust

A strong flow of water that happens when the tide moves

equatorial current
  • Specialized
1 6.6

A current that flows west along the equator because of steady winds

1 3.6

An electric flow that moves in one direction and does not reverse

current intelligence
  • Specialized
1 5.7

Recent information about events that people share quickly because it is needed now

current assets
  • Specialized
1 3.6

Items a company can turn into cash within one year, like inventory or money owed to it

current collector
  • Specialized
1 6.2

A part on trams and trains that takes electricity from overhead wires or a rail to power them

A cold ocean current that flows north along the Pacific coast of South America

A warm ocean current that flows northeast off the coast of Japan into the northern Pacific

Humboldt current
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A cold ocean current that flows north along the west coast of South America

Japan current
  • Specialized
1 6.3

A warm ocean current that flows northeast from the coast of Japan into the northern Pacific

1 6.2

A warm ocean flow that moves west across the Pacific just north of the equator

1 6.1

An ocean flow that moves westward just south of the equator

A flow of electricity that moves back and forth regularly, like the power in homes

thermionic current
  • Specialized
9.7

An electric flow between two metal parts caused by heat making electrons leave one part

How Strong

surge
180 4.2
current
  • Specialized
70 3.7

Surface Forms

current singular
currents plural

Etymology

The word current for electricity comes from the same Latin currere, 'to run', as a helpful picture: electricity 'runs' through a wire like water in a river, so an electrical current is a flow of electric charge.