Dictionary

transistor en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /tɹænˈzɪs.tɚ/ (General-American)

Etymology

Blend of transfer + resistor. Said to have been coined by American engineer John Robinson Pierce in 1947, who used transresistance as the basis for forming transistor.

Meanings

1. (qualifier:semiconductors) A solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals, which can be used for amplification, switching, voltage stabilization, signal modulation, and many other functions.
   • Switches and transistors control the flow of electricity like valves and faucets control water. Resistors limit the flow of electricity. […] Light is transmitted from the color LED, through the fiber optic cable, to control the NPN transistor (Q2) and red LED (D1). 2017 October 14, “Snap Circuits Light”, in Snap Circuits, Elenco, pages 9, 59:
2. (dated, informal, metonymically) A transistor radio.
   • Turn your transistor on and let the music play 1978, Billy Joel, Half a Mile Away:

Forms

Deriveds

transistor radio · pass transistor · transistorization · junction transistor · FET · transistorise · spacistor · biotransistor · silicon planar epitaxial transistor · UJT · barristor · transistorisation · transistorless · nanotransistor · TFT · transputer · transistorize · phototransistor · transistorized · post-transistor · thyristor · thin-film transistor · heterotransistor

Translations (65)

pt transístor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ast transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ru транзи́стор (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · fr transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · it radiolina (small portable radio) · et transistor (small portable radio) · es transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · hu tranzisztor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ca transistor (small portable radio) · yue 原子粒 (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · cs tranzistor (small portable radio) · pl tranzystor (small portable radio) · mi whitiārai (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · tr transistör (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · sv transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ru радиоприёмник (small portable radio) · yue 晶體管 /晶体管 (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · bg транзи́стор (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · is smári (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · he טרנזיסטור (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · da transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · pl tranzystor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ro tranzistor (small portable radio) · el κρυσταλλοτρίοδος (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ka ტრანზისტორი (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · sh tranzistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ro tranzistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · it transistore (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · gl transistor (small portable radio) · nn transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · id transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · lt tranzistorius (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · cmn 電晶體 /电晶体 (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · fi transistori (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · he טרנזיסטור (small portable radio) · cmn 晶體管 /晶体管 (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · yue 電晶體 /电晶体 (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · bg транзи́стор (small portable radio) · et transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · it transistor (small portable radio) · sh транзистор (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · cs tranďák (small portable radio) · lt tranzistorius (small portable radio) · nb transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · it transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ru транзи́стор (small portable radio) · ca transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ko 트랜지스터 (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · es transistor (small portable radio) · sv transistor (small portable radio) · ast transistor (small portable radio) · gl transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · el τρανζίστορ (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · cs tranzistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · km ត្រង់ស៊ីស្ទ័រ (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · de Transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ja トランジスタ (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ar تْرَانْزِسْتُور (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · ms transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · vi bóng bán dẫn (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · pt transístor (small portable radio) · ru приёмник (small portable radio) · tl saligwil (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · lv transistors (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals) · nl transistor (solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals)

wikidata: Q5339