electrode

[ih-lek-trohd] /ɪˈlɛk troʊd/
noun, Electricity
1.
a conductor, not necessarily metallic, through which a current enters or leaves a nonmetallic medium, as an electrolytic cell, arc generator, vacuum tube, or gaseous discharge tube.
Origin
1825-35; electr- + -ode2
Related forms
interelectrode, noun
Examples from the web for electrode
  • The electrode is not touching a point critical to language.
  • When muscles contract, they give off an electrical burst strong enough to be detected by an electrode placed on the skin.
  • The electrode is wrapped around the insect's auditory nerve.
  • Apply the opposite charge and the electrode flips back, breaking the circuit.
  • The battery-maker's dilemma is that the recharging rate depends on the area of contact between electrolyte and electrode.
  • When a voltage is applied, the positively charged ions move towards the negative electrode, carrying electrolytic fluid with them.
  • When spot-welding, for instance, a robot has to touch the metal with an electrode.
  • Electricity is introduced through an electrode on the inmate's head.
  • The silicon enables it to be more flexible and foldable than a conventional rigid electrode array.
  • Current was transmitted across this chamber from the vibrating diaphragm electrode to the fixed electrode plate.
British Dictionary definitions for electrode

electrode

/ɪˈlɛktrəʊd/
noun
1.
a conductor through which an electric current enters or leaves an electrolyte, an electric arc, or an electronic valve or tube
2.
an element in a semiconducting device that emits, collects, or controls the movement of electrons or holes
Word Origin and History for electrode
n.

1834, coined by English physicist and chemist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) from electro- + Greek hodos "way" (see cede) on same pattern as anode, cathode.

electrode in Medicine

electrode e·lec·trode (ĭ-lěk'trōd')
n.

  1. A solid electric conductor through which an electric current enters or leaves an electrolytic cell or other medium.

  2. A collector or emitter of electric charge or of electric-charge carriers, as in a semiconducting device.

electrode in Science
electrode
  (ĭ-lěk'trōd')   
A conductor through which an electric current enters or leaves a substance (or a vacuum) whose electrical characteristics are being measured, used, or manipulated. Electrodes can be used to detect electrical activity such as brain waves. Terminal points in electrical components such as transistors, diodes, and batteries are electrodes.