Edison

[ ed-uh-suhn ]

noun
  1. Thomas Al·va [al-vuh], /ˈæl və/, 1847–1931, U.S. inventor, especially of electrical devices.

  2. a township in central New Jersey.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Edison in a sentence

  • It was said you were the true successor of Thomas Alva Edison.

  • When the war began we availed ourselves of the talents of Thomas Alva Edison.

    Your Negro Neighbor | Benjamin Brawley
  • Perhaps there has never been a man whose thoughts were so continually asking the question why as Thomas Alva Edison.

    Historic Inventions | Rupert S. Holland
  • Thomas Alva Edison is one of the most remarkable men of all times and places.

  • It was in 1877 that Thomas Alva Edison completed the first phonograph.

    The Age of Invention | Holland Thompson

British Dictionary definitions for Edison

Edison

/ (ˈɛdɪsən) /


noun
  1. Thomas Alva. 1847–1931, US inventor. He patented more than a thousand inventions, including the phonograph, the incandescent electric lamp, the microphone, and the kinetoscope

Collins 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 Edison

Edison

[ ĕdĭ-sən ]


  1. American inventor and physicist who took out more than 1,000 patents in his lifetime. His inventions include the telegraph (1869), microphone (1877), and light bulb (1879). He also designed the first power plant (1881-82), making possible the widespread distribution of electricity. During World War I, Edison worked on a number of military devices, including flamethrowers, periscopes, and torpedoes.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.