variable resistor
- noun
- /ˈvɛrɪbəl rɪˈzɪstər/
- Specialized
:
resistor variable
- To control the brightness of the LED, you can use a variable resistor in the circuit.
Examples
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The technician adjusted the variable resistor to fine-tune the circuit's performance.
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In this experiment, the variable resistor allowed us to change the current flow smoothly.
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And this variable resistor controls how positive it's going to get.
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The volume knob was a variable resistor, he now understood, and he removed that also.
Fiction book (1997) -
That may be some sort of like variable resistor thing, and I'm not too sure about everything else, but we've got the power here.
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The graph shows how the time range can be changed by building the "black box" with a different capacitor and variable resistor.
Academic text (1993) -
They're just a bunch of variable resistors, A bunch of electrical potentiometers.
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We have tried various relays, capacitors, and variable resistors and like the results from the items listed in the parts list.
Academic text (1993) -
They're made by a Spectra symbol and it's basically a variable resistor that changes value when you flex it.
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Adjust the potentiometer (variable resistor) and fire the shutters again.
Academic text (1993)
Synonyms
1
9.4
A device that controls the flow of electricity by changing resistance
1
9.6
A small electrical device with a knob that changes voltage in a circuit
How Adjustable
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
9.4
- Specialized
1
9.6
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an electronic component whose resistance can be adjusted' is directly and compositionally derived from 'variable' (capable of changing) modifying 'resistor' (an element controlling electrical current). This simple adjective+noun pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reliably infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The name variable resistor gives a clear image: resistor is a part that resists electric flow and variable means it can change, like a tap you turn to let more or less water through. So the term refers to a part you can adjust 'to control the flow of electric current'.