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Glite Dictionary
potential energy

potential energy

6 3.9
Power that something has because of its position, not its movement
  • noun
  • /pəˈtɛnʃəl ˈɛnərdʒi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : energía potencial
  • Raising two drabs a foot results in an increase of their potential energy by a corresponding amount.
  • potential energy stored
  • total potential energy
  • change in potential energy

So if I walk past a house and a slate falls on my head, then what's actually happened is gravitational potential energy.

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Examples

  • Energy by virtue of position. A raised weight has potential energy.

    Academic text (1991)

  • This is the potential energy of a single spring.

  • This is the potential energy at the surface of the earth.

  • And this would be the potential energy of those two ions.

  • Each place, or each new structure, corresponds to a particular potential energy.

    Academic text (2017)

  • Water backs up behind the dam and creates a head of potential energy.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The cow started with potential energy MGH, and my H is my height here.

  • We're going to look at classical trajectories and at the potential energy surface and collective concepts.

  • The extra energy came from a transformation of potential energy into the kinetic energy of linear motion.

    Blog text (18)

  • Water stored in a dam has significant potential energy, which can be converted into electricity.

Synonyms

P.E.
vspotential energy
  • Specialized
6.7

Energy stored in an object because of its position or shape

is the full term rather than the short written form

Antonyms

kinetic energy
  • Specialized
15 3.9

The ability a moving object has to make things move

Surface Forms

potential energy singular
potential energies plural

Morphology

potential + energy

The compound is compositional: 'potential' (latent, possible, stored capacity) modifies 'energy', so the phrase denotes energy that exists in a stored or latent form because of position or condition. This meaning is cross-linguistically common (e.g., French 'énergie potentielle', Spanish 'energía potencial') and therefore a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Potential energy comes from the idea that potential means 'possible' and energy means power. Imagine a rock on a hill: it is not moving but could roll down, so it has energy waiting to be used, and that's why potential energy means 'energy an object has because of its position or condition'.