resistor

noun

re·​sis·​tor ri-ˈzi-stər How to pronounce resistor (audio)
: a device that has electrical resistance and that is used in an electric circuit for protection, operation, or current control

Examples of resistor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The resistors were bankers and business leaders, Kiwanis and Rotary Club members and clergy, and middle-class members of White Citizens’ Councils who took pains to distance themselves from the Ku Klux Klan—as well as officeholders from local school boards to state capitols to the halls of Congress. Essence, 22 Mar. 2025 The analog input voltage is fed into a five-tap logarithmic resistor divider, whose taps drive the thyratron grids. IEEE Spectrum, 25 Jan. 2019 An electronic analogy to silicon photonics would be something like taking discrete electrical components, such as copper wires and resistors, and integrating them onto a microchip with copper traces and nano-scale transistors. Christopher V. Poulton, IEEE Spectrum, 4 Aug. 2016 System components included a lithium-ion battery, a microcontroller, Bluetooth module, resistors, capacitors, N-type and P-type MOSFETs, and linear regulators for wirelessly controlling the flavor channels via a graphical user interface (GUI) in the virtual environment. Ars Technica, 26 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for resistor

Word History

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of resistor was in 1905

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Cite this Entry

“Resistor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resistor. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

resistor

noun
re·​sis·​tor ri-ˈzis-tər How to pronounce resistor (audio)
: a device offering electrical resistance

More from Merriam-Webster on resistor

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