Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
static electricity

static electricity

11 4.1
An electric charge that builds on a surface when things rub together, causing small shocks or making hair stand
  • noun
  • /ˈstætɪk ɪˌlɛkˈtrɪsɪti/
  • Specialized
translation icon : electricidad estática
  • Melissa was at the mirror, brushing her hair until it crackled with static electricity.
  • crackling with static electricity
  • spark of static electricity
  • buildup of static electricity

Well, wool is also a, a, a collector of static electricity.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Skin-on-skin contact creates static electricity.

    Crank: High Voltage (2009)

  • Her skirt brushed against his shirt in passing, with a spark of static electricity.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I think it's static electricity that does it.

    The Black Phone (2022)

  • And what it does is it takes the static electricity off of you, sends it to a ground.

  • However, this would have produced an unwanted side effect: static electricity.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Static electricity may be generated on the pressure plate of the camera and create problems.

    Academic text (1995)

  • For a moment, no one in the crowd moved; the tension was as thick in the air as static electricity before a summer thunderstorm.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Static electricity used to build up on sailing ships, and sparks would shoot from the masts and stuff.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • An electrostatic sprayer has a nozzle that charges tiny pesticide droplets with static electricity so they cling to plant leaves.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Mom removed her woolen cap, and static electricity made her short blond hair stick up at various angles.

Synonyms

electrostatic charge
vsstatic electricity
  • Specialized
2 6.2

A buildup of electricity on the surface of an object that does not let it move

is electricity produced by accumulated surface charges typically caused by friction

Surface Forms

static electricity singular
static electricities plural

Morphology

static + electricity

This is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'static' (stationary/accumulated, here relating to electrostatic charge) modifies 'electricity', so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to electricity caused by non-moving/accumulated charges (e.g. shocks from friction). The construction follows a common, cross-linguistic noun-modifier pattern and is therefore readily comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Static electricity comes from the idea of electric energy that 'stays' on the surface of things after rubbing, where static means not moving and electricity means electric energy. For example, when you rub a balloon on your hair, the charge builds up and makes your hair stand on end or gives a small shock, so the phrase means electricity that gathers and then is suddenly released.