amplifier

UK/ˈæm.plə.faɪ.ə/US/ˈæm.plə.faɪ.ɚ/

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #11,788 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: amplifiers

An amplifier is the box that makes an electric instrument loud. Plug into the amplifier, a valve amplifier, turn the amplifier up.

Guitarists choose one for its distortion rather than its volume, since the sound of an overdriven amplifier is half of rock music. Valve amplifiers are still preferred for that reason, though they are heavier and fragile.

Definitions of amplifier

1nounamplifierThe box that makes an electric instrument loud.B2+
“He plugged his guitar into the amplifier and turned the volume right up.”

amplifier is a device.

Where it comes from

Middle English
amplifiyen
English
amplify
English, today
amplifier

From amplify + -er. amplify comes from Middle English amplifiyen. by surface analysis, ample + -ify.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Music & Instruments

Practise this word

amplifier in the wild

An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current).
Amplifier
The amount of amplification provided by an amplifier is measured by its gain: the ratio of output voltage, current, or power to input.
Amplifier
Many standard integrated circuit op amps cost only a few cents; however, some integrated or hybrid operational amplifiers with special performance specifications may cost over US$100.
Operational amplifier
An optical amplifier may be thought of as a laser without an optical cavity, or one in which feedback from the cavity is suppressed.
Optical amplifier
Optical amplifiers are important in optical communication and laser physics.
Optical amplifier

1 / 3

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

← Vocabulary