CATHODE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cathode mean? 

• CATHODE (noun)
  The noun CATHODE has 2 senses:

1. a negatively charged electrode that is the source of electrons entering an electrical device

2. the positively charged terminal of a voltaic cell or storage battery that supplies current

  Familiarity information: CATHODE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CATHODE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A negatively charged electrode that is the source of electrons entering an electrical device

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("cathode" is a kind of...):

electrode (a conductor used to make electrical contact with some part of a circuit)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cathode"):

cold cathode (a cathode that is a source of electrons without being heated)

photocathode (a cathode that emits electrons when illuminated)

Holonyms ("cathode" is a part of...):

electrolytic cell (a cell containing an electrolyte in which an applied voltage causes a reaction to occur that would not occur otherwise (such as the breakdown of water into hydrogen and oxygen))

electron tube; thermionic tube; thermionic vacuum tube; thermionic valve; tube; vacuum tube (electronic device consisting of a system of electrodes arranged in an evacuated glass or metal envelope)

Antonym:

anode (a positively charged electrode by which electrons leave an electrical device)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The positively charged terminal of a voltaic cell or storage battery that supplies current

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("cathode" is a kind of...):

depot; terminal; terminus (station where transport vehicles load or unload passengers or goods)

Holonyms ("cathode" is a part of...):

accumulator; storage battery (a voltaic battery that stores electric charge)

galvanic cell; primary cell; voltaic cell (an electric cell that generates an electromotive force by an irreversible conversion of chemical to electrical energy; cannot be recharged)

Antonym:

anode (the negatively charged terminal of a voltaic cell or storage battery that supplies current)

 Context examples 

An electronic device designed to display electrical measurements, typically as a waveform on a cathode ray tube.

(Oscilloscope Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

The peak accelerating voltage applied in an X-ray tube between the cathode and anode.

(Kilovolt Peak, NCI Thesaurus)

A lithium-ion battery charges and discharges as lithium ions move between two electrodes, called an anode and a cathode.

(Creating Better Lithium-Ion Batteries Made Possible with New Discovery, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

An electrode placed between the cathode and anode of a vacuum tube to control the flow of electrons through the tube.

(Grid, NCI Thesaurus)

The motion of charged particles in a colloid under the influence of an electric field; particles with a positive charge go to the cathode and negative to the anode.

(Electrophoresis, NCI Thesaurus)

A battery consisting of a lithium anode and a cathode of iodine and poly-2-vinyl pyridine.

(Lithium Iodide Battery Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

In a traditional lithium-ion battery, the anode is made of graphite, while the cathode is composed of lithium cobalt oxide.

(Creating Better Lithium-Ion Batteries Made Possible with New Discovery, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)