diode
a device, as a two-element electron tube or a semiconductor, through which current can pass freely in only one direction.
Origin of diode
1Words Nearby diode
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use diode in a sentence
The Daily Pic: Ingo Maurer shows it's better to charge a single diode than curse the darkness.
British Dictionary definitions for diode
/ (ˈdaɪəʊd) /
a semiconductor device containing one p-n junction, used in circuits for converting alternating current to direct current: More formal name: semiconductor diode
the earliest and simplest type of electronic valve having two electrodes, an anode and a cathode, between which a current can flow only in one direction. It was formerly widely used as a rectifier and detector but has now been replaced in most electrical circuits by the more efficient and reliable semiconductor diode
Origin of diode
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for diode
[ dī′ōd′ ]
An electrical device with two active terminals, an anode and a cathode, through which current passes more easily in one direction (from anode to cathode) than in the reverse direction. Diodes have many uses, including conversion of AC power to DC power, and the decoding of audio-frequency signals from radio signals.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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