ELECTRIC CIRCUIT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does electric circuit mean? 

• ELECTRIC CIRCUIT (noun)
  The noun ELECTRIC CIRCUIT has 1 sense:

1. an electrical device that provides a path for electrical current to flow

  Familiarity information: ELECTRIC CIRCUIT used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ELECTRIC CIRCUIT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An electrical device that provides a path for electrical current to flow

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

circuit; electric circuit; electrical circuit

Hypernyms ("electric circuit" is a kind of...):

electrical device (a device that produces or is powered by electricity)

Meronyms (parts of "electric circuit"):

electrical relay; relay (electrical device such that current flowing through it in one circuit can switch on and off a current in a second circuit)

resistance; resistor (an electrical device that resists the flow of electrical current)

short; short circuit (accidental contact between two points in an electric circuit that have a potential difference)

bypass; electrical shunt; shunt (a conductor having low resistance in parallel with another device to divert a fraction of the current)

choke; choke coil; choking coil (a coil of low resistance and high inductance used in electrical circuits to pass direct current and attenuate alternating current)

capacitance; capacitor; condenser; electrical condenser (an electrical device characterized by its capacity to store an electric charge)

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)

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

data link; link (an interconnecting circuit between two or more locations for the purpose of transmitting and receiving data)

wiring (a circuit of wires for the distribution of electricity)

T-network (a circuit formed by two equal series circuits with a shunt between them)

tank circuit (an oscillatory circuit)

squelch; squelch circuit; squelcher (an electric circuit that cuts off a receiver when the signal becomes weaker than the noise)

series circuit (a circuit having its parts connected serially)

resonant circuit; resonator (an electrical circuit that combines capacitance and inductance in such a way that a periodic electric oscillation will reach maximum amplitude)

pulse timing circuit (a circuit that times pulses)

open circuit (an incomplete electrical circuit in which no current flows)

bridge; bridge circuit (a circuit consisting of two branches (4 arms arranged in a diamond configuration) across which a meter is connected)

clipper; limiter ((electronics) a nonlinear electronic circuit whose output is limited in amplitude; used to limit the instantaneous amplitude of a waveform (to clip off the peaks of a waveform))

flip-flop (an electronic circuit that can assume either of two stable states)

feedback circuit; feedback loop (a circuit that feeds back some of the output to the input of a system)

delay line (a circuit designed to introduce a calculated delay into the transmission of a signal)

computer circuit (a circuit that is part of a computer)

closed circuit; loop (a complete electrical circuit around which current flows or a signal circulates)

bridged-T (a circuit consisting of a T-network with an additional shunt bridging the two series circuits)

Holonyms ("electric circuit" is a part of...):

electronic equipment (equipment that involves the controlled conduction of electrons (especially in a gas or vacuum or semiconductor))

 Context examples 

A device designed to change the restistance of an electric circuit.

(Impedance Converter Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

A device experiencing problems due to an unintentionally low-resistance connection between two points in an electric circuit, resulting in either excessive current flow that often causes damage or in a new shorter circuit that draws current away from the original pathways and components.

(Device Short Circuit Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)