| Library / English Dictionary |
CATHODE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (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)
