transistor
nounUS /tɹænˈzɪs.tɚ/
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.
1
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 23, “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 play1978, Billy Joel, Half a Mile Away:
- Derived terms
- barristor, biotransistor, FET, heterotransistor, junction transistor, nanotransistor, pass transistor, phototransistor, post-transistor, silicon planar epitaxial transistor, spacistor, TFT, thin-film transistor, thyristor, transistorisation, transistorise, transistorization, transistorize, transistorized, transistorless, transistor radio, transputer, UJT