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electric

i-LEK-trik/ɪˈlɛktɹɪk/

Noun pluralelectrics (some meanings)

6 meanings of electric

Practice

  1. 1
    powered by electricityadjective
    Relating to, produced by, powered by, or using electricity, including musical instruments whose sound is made or amplified electronically.

    The factory switched to electric machinery to cut its emissions.

    Modern electric vehicles can travel hundreds of miles on a single charge.

    UsageMost often electric for things that run on electricity (an electric car), electrical for wider uses (electrical engineering, an electrical fault).

    Note

    A word that began with amber: Thomas Browne used it around 1646, from New Latin electricus, built on Greek ēlektron, "amber". Amber turns up again in the noun for electrifiable substances, beside glass.

  2. 2
    power supplynouncolloquialuncountablewith the
    Electricity, or the supply of electrical power to a home or building.

    We need to top up the electric before the meter runs out.

    The landlord covers the electric as part of the rent.

    UsageMostly about bills and meters: pay the electric, the electric is off. In careful writing, say electricity.

    Similarelectricity, power

  3. 3
    nouncolloquialcountable
    A vehicle or device powered by electricity, such as a car, train, toothbrush, or typewriter, as distinct from one that is not.

    The railway is gradually replacing its diesels with electrics.

    There were electric vehicles around, but four-wheel drive electrics were pretty damned rare, and the snow was deep enough to stop anything that didn't have a minimum of four big wheels spinning at all times.
    2004, Dennis Barton, Red Star 4: Victory
    Note

    One of a family of clipped nouns in which electric stands alone for "the electric version" of something that was not electric at first, whether a vehicle, a toothbrush, or a typewriter. Railway writing uses the plural readily. Cecil J. Allen, in 1955, admired Gotthard "Ae 6/6" electrics packing 6,000 horsepower. Context decides whether a car, train, locomotive, or household device is meant.

  4. 4
    thrillingadjectivefiguratively
    Emotionally thrilling; charged with intense excitement.

    The performance was electric, holding the audience breathless until the final note.

    There was an electric tension between the two rivals before the match began.

    UsageMost often about a mood or a crowd: the atmosphere was electric, an electric atmosphere.

    Similarelectrifying, thrilling, exciting, charged

    Oppositedull, flat

    Note

    The figurative sense was in use by 1831. That year Letitia Elizabeth Landon wrote that "nothing is so electric as the kindness of sympathy." Here the word can take degree, as "so electric" shows. It can also describe a person, as in Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Electric Pindar," and it can follow its noun for effect, as in Walt Whitman's "I sing the Body electric," added in the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • Landon's quotation appeared in 1831. en.wikipedia.org
    • The quoted words are Landon's wording. en.wikiquote.org
    • Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote Electric Pindar. gutenberg.org
    • Whitman's quoted line occurs in Leaves of Grass. en.wikipedia.org
    • Leaves of Grass was first published in 1855. The quoted opening line was added in the 1867 edition, which should be identified explicitly. en.wikipedia.org

Less common meanings

  1. 5
    static materialnounarchaic
    A substance or object, such as amber or glass, that can be given an electric charge, as by rubbing, but does not conduct electricity.
    Note

    Here the word names the material itself: amber, glass, resin, bodies that could be excited by friction to draw light objects to them. It sorted matter into things that hold a charge and things that carry one away, so an electric was what we would now call an insulator. The term is archaic and belongs in historical writing about early experiments.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Amber, glass, and resin were classed as electrics that could attract light objects after rubbing. gutenberg.org
    • Electrics attracted light objects when rubbed. gutenberg.org
    • The historical distinction corresponds to insulators and conductors. ifi.unicamp.br
    • The material noun sense is archaic. en.wiktionary.org
  2. 6
    noun
    A form of fencing that uses a body wire, scoring box, and related equipment to register when a weapon touches an opponent.

Practice

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Origin

First attested around 1646, from New Latin ēlectricus ('electrical; of amber'), built from ēlectrum ('amber') and the adjective suffix -icus. The root traces to Ancient Greek ḗlektron ('amber'), of unknown origin. The Latin term was apparently first used with the sense 'electrical' by the English physician and scientist William Gilbert in his 1600 work De Magnete.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

  • Electric comes from New Latin ēlectricus, meaning 'electrical; of amber'. en.wiktionary.org
  • Ēlectricus combines ēlectrum, meaning 'amber', with the adjective suffix -icus. en.wiktionary.org
  • The root comes from Ancient Greek ḗlektron, meaning 'amber'. en.wikipedia.org
  • The Greek word's further origin is unknown. en.wiktionary.org
  • William Gilbert apparently first used the Latin term in its electrical sense in De Magnete in 1600. en.wiktionary.org
  • De Magnete was first published in 1600. lancaster.ac.uk