Watt Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

Cultural

Etymology

Examples

watt 1 American [wot] / wɒt /

noun

1. the standard unit of power in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one joule per second and equal to the power in a circuit in which a current of one ampere flows across a potential difference of one volt. W, w.

Watt 2 American [wot] / wɒt /

noun

1. James, 1736–1819, Scottish engineer and inventor.

watt 1 British / wɒt /

noun

1. W. the derived SI unit of power, equal to 1 joule per second; the power dissipated by a current of 1 ampere flowing across a potential difference of 1 volt. 1 watt is equivalent to 1.341 × 10 –3 horsepower

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Watt 2 British / wɒt /

noun

1. James. 1736–1819, Scottish engineer and inventor. His fundamental improvements to the steam engine led to the widespread use of steam power in industry

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 watt 1 Scientific / wŏt /

1. The SI derived unit used to measure power, equal to one joule per second. In electricity, a watt is equal to current (in amperes) multiplied by voltage (in volts).

Watt 2 Scientific

1. British engineer and inventor who patented a much improved version of the steam engine (1769) and devised the unit of horsepower. The watt unit of power is named for him.

watt Cultural

1. The basic unit of power, named after the eighteenth-century Scottish inventor James Watt.

Etymology

Origin of watt

First recorded in 1882; named after J. Watt

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Sunshine" is recorded when the strength of the Sun is at least 120 watts per square metre.

From BBC

Yet, the human brain accomplishes this remarkable learning while consuming only about 20 watts of power, compared to the megawatts required by today's supercomputers.

From Science Daily

“The idea of having to use a broadcast transmitter of 50,000 watts is early 20th century technology,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Performing a task such as writing a story uses only about 20 watts of power in the human brain, whereas a large language model can require more than a megawatt to accomplish the same thing.

From Science Daily

I handed her the hydrangea and she immediately smiled and the entire historic, high-ceilinged ticketing concourse lighted up 1,000 watts.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.