secondary cell
- noun
- /ˈsɛkəndˌɛri sɛl/
- Specialized
:
batería secundaria
- Modern smartphones use a secondary cell to allow users to recharge their devices efficiently.
Examples
-
The laboratory experiment demonstrated how a secondary cell could be recharged after each discharge cycle.
-
Compared to a primary battery, a secondary cell offers greater long-term value for portable electronics.
-
A secondary cell is commonly used in smartphones.
-
Many devices rely on secondary cells for power.
-
Modern smartphones use a secondary cell to allow users to recharge their devices efficiently.
-
The laboratory experiment demonstrated how a secondary cell could be recharged after each discharge cycle.
-
Compared to a primary battery, a secondary cell offers greater long-term value for portable electronics.
Synonyms
1
3.9
A device that stores electricity and can be charged again
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The composition is partly transparent because 'secondary' modifies 'cell' to signal a subtype — a learner can tell it is a particular kind of cell. However, the specific technical sense of 'secondary' meaning 'rechargeable' (vs. a 'primary' non-rechargeable cell) is specialized and not the obvious everyday meaning of 'secondary', so a B1 learner knowing the constituents would not reliably infer the exact meaning without domain knowledge.
Etymology
Secondary cell comes from early battery makers who called a non-rechargeable battery a 'primary' or 'first' cell, so a battery you could charge and use again was called a 'secondary' (a 'second') cell, which is why the term now means a rechargeable battery you can use many times.