transistor

Etymology

Blend of transfer + resistor. Said to have been coined by American engineer John Robinson Pierce in 1947.

noun

  1. (semiconductors) A solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals, which can be used for amplification, switching, voltage stabilization, signal modulation, and many other functions.
  2. (dated, informal) A transistor radio.
    Turn your transistor on and let the music play 1978, Billy Joel, Half a Mile Away

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/transistor), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.