What does current mean?

Definitions for current
ˈkɜr ənt, ˈkʌr-cur·rent

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word current.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. current, electric currentnoun

    a flow of electricity through a conductor

    "the current was measured in amperes"

  2. current, streamnoun

    a steady flow of a fluid (usually from natural causes)

    "the raft floated downstream on the current"; "he felt a stream of air"; "the hose ejected a stream of water"

  3. stream, flow, currentadjective

    dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas

    "two streams of development run through American history"; "stream of consciousness"; "the flow of thought"; "the current of history"

  4. currentadjective

    occurring in or belonging to the present time

    "current events"; "the current topic"; "current negotiations"; "current psychoanalytic theories"; "the ship's current position"

Wiktionary

  1. currentnoun

    The part of a fluid that moves continuously in a certain direction.

  2. currentnoun

    The time rate of flow of electric charge.

  3. currentnoun

    A tendency or a course of events.

  4. currentadjective

    Existing or occurring at the moment.

  5. currentadjective

    Generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment.

  6. Etymology: From curraunt, from curant (French: courant), present participle of courre, from currere, present active infinitive of curro.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. CURRENTadjective

    Etymology: currens, Latin.

    Shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. Gen.

    That there was current money in Abraham’s time is past doubt, though it is not sure that it was stampt; for he is said to be rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. Arbuthnot.

    Many strange bruits are received for current. Philip Sidney.

    Because such as openly reprove supposed disorders of state, are taken for principal friends to the common benefit of all, under this fair and plausible colour, whatsoever they utter passeth for good and current. Richard Hooker, b. i.

    I have collected the facts, with all possible impartiality, from the current histories of those times. Jonathan Swift.

    They have been trained up from their infancy in one set of notions, without ever hearing or knowing what other opinions are current among mankind. Isaac Watts, Improvement.

    About three months ago we had a current report of the king of France’s death. Joseph Addison, Spectator.

    We are also to consider the difference between worth and merit, strictly taken; that is, a man’s intrinsick; this, his current value; which is less or more, as men have occasion for him. Nehemiah Grew, Cosmol. b. ii. c. 7. sect. 34.

    Oft leaving what is natural and fit,
    The current folly proves our ready wit;
    And authors think their reputation safe,
    Which lives as long as fools are pleas’d to laugh. Alexander Pope.

    Fouler than heart can think thee, thou canst make
    No excuse current, but to hang thyself. William Shakespeare, Rich. III.

  2. Currentnoun

    The current, that with gentle murmur glides,
    Thou know’st, being stopp’d, impatiently doth rage;
    But his fair course is not hindered:
    He makes sweet musick with th’ enamel’d stones. William Shakespeare.

    These inequalities will vanish in one place, and presently appear in another, and seem perfectly to move like waves, succeeding and destroying one another; save that their motion oftentimes seems to be quickest, as if in that vast sea they were carried on by a current, or at least by a tide. Boyle.

    Heav’n her Eridanus no more shall boast,
    Whose fame in thine, like lesser currents lost;
    Thy nobler streams shall visit Jove’s abodes,
    To shine among the stars, and bathe the gods. John Denham.

    Not fabled Po more swells the poet’s lays,
    While through the sky his shining current strays. Alexander Pope.

ChatGPT

  1. current

    Current typically refers to the flow or movement of something, often referring to the flow of electricity in a circuit or the movement of water in a river or ocean. It can also refer to the most recent or up-to-date state of something, such as current news or events.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Currentadjective

    running or moving rapidly

  2. Currentadjective

    now passing, as time; as, the current month

  3. Currentadjective

    passing from person to person, or from hand to hand; circulating through the community; generally received; common; as, a current coin; a current report; current history

  4. Currentadjective

    commonly estimated or acknowledged

  5. Currentadjective

    fitted for general acceptance or circulation; authentic; passable

  6. Currentadjective

    a flowing or passing; onward motion. Hence: A body of fluid moving continuously in a certain direction; a stream; esp., the swiftest part of it; as, a current of water or of air; that which resembles a stream in motion; as, a current of electricity

  7. Currentadjective

    general course; ordinary procedure; progressive and connected movement; as, the current of time, of events, of opinion, etc

  8. Etymology: [OE. currant, OF. curant, corant, p. pr. of curre, corre, F. courre, courir, to run, from L. currere; perh. akin to E. horse. Cf. Course, Concur, Courant, Coranto.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Current

    kur′ent, adj. running or flowing: passing from person to person: generally received: now passing: present.—n. a running or flowing: a stream: a portion of water or air moving in a certain direction: course.—n. Curr′ency, circulation: that which circulates, as the money of a country: general estimation.—adv. Curr′ently.—n. Curr′entness, state of being current: general acceptance.—Pass current, to be received as genuine. [L. currens, -ent-iscurrĕre), to run.]

The Standard Electrical Dictionary

  1. Current

    The adjustment, or effects of a continuous attempt at readjustment of potential difference by a conductor, q. v., connecting two points of different potential. A charged particle or body placed in a field of force tends to move toward the oppositely charged end or portion of the field. If a series of conducting particles or a conducting body are held so as to be unable to move, then the charge of the field tends, as it were, to move through it, and a current results. It is really a redistribution of the field and as long as such redistribution continues a current exists. A current is assumed to flow from a positive to a negative terminal; as in the case of a battery, the current in the outer circuit is assumed to flow from the carbon to the zinc plate, and in the solution to continue from zinc to carbon. As a memoria technica the zinc may be thought of as generating the current delivering it through the solution to the carbon, whence it flows through the wire connecting them. (See Ohm's Law--Maxwell's Theory of Light--Conductor-Intensity.) [Transcriber's note: Supposing electric current to be the motion of positive charge causes no practical difficulty, but the current is actually the (slight) motion of negative electrons.]

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

  1. current

    A body of water moving in a certain direction and caused by wind and density differences in water. The effects of a current are modified by water depth, underwater topography, basin shape, land masses, and deflection from the earth

CrunchBase

  1. CURRENT

    CURRENT, a Germantown, MD-based provider of core smart grid infrastructure and software solutions.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. current

    A certain progressive flowing of the sea in one direction, by which all bodies floating therein are compelled more or less to submit to the stream. The setting of the current, is that point of the compass towards which the waters run; and the drift of the current is the rate it runs at in an hour. Currents are general and particular, the former depending on causes in constant action, the latter on occasional circumstances. (See DIRECTION.)

  2. current

    Depends on several circumstances. First, the tide varies with the state of the moon, running strongest at the springs, and the force of the ebb is much increased by rains, land freshes, &c. The currents also vary, especially when wind and tide combine to accelerate their action.

Editors Contribution

  1. current

    A flow of electricity through a conductor.

    Rhe battery current was very efficient.


    Submitted by MaryC on December 28, 2019  


  2. current

    A movement of energy.

    The air current at the coast and inland was moderate and calm.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 13, 2020  


  3. current

    The present moment.

    The current love, solidarity and unity we all share is creating the loving, just and fair solutions we choose from our hearts.


    Submitted by MaryC on May 2, 2020  

Suggested Resources

  1. Current

    Current vs. Currant -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Current and Currant.

  2. Current

    Currant vs. Current -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Currant and Current.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. CURRENT

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Current is ranked #12269 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Current surname appeared 2,535 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Current.

    88% or 2,233 total occurrences were White.
    7% or 179 total occurrences were Black.
    2% or 53 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    2% or 52 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'current' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #727

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'current' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1248

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'current' in Nouns Frequency: #2139

  4. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'current' in Adjectives Frequency: #84

How to pronounce current?

How to say current in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of current in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of current in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of current in a Sentence

  1. Tommee Tippee:

    Child health and well-being is at the heart of everything we do, and we're taking the current concerns around our Sippee cups very seriously.

  2. Tony Perkins:

    Unfortunately, this freedom has been systematically undermined and even assaulted under the policies of the current administration and previous Congresses.

  3. Josh Geltzer:

    These redactions at least raise eyebrows. The categories that the Freedom of Information Act allows the government to withhold are sufficiently vague that it's hard to say whether these redactions were actually in violation of that law, but does it appear suspicious given the damning nature of what was withheld, and the current government's obvious motivation for withholding it.

  4. Coast Guard Chief Luke Clayton:

    It just caught the right current.

  5. Christopher Olivarez:

    It is imperative that leadership from the federal government visit the southern border, discussions with border residents, ranchers, law enforcement and public officials are the only way to understand the magnitude of this current border crisis and develop comprehensive strategies that effectively implement a controlled immigration process.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

current#1#328#10000

Translations for current

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"current." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/current>.

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    pass through the tissue or substance or its pores or interstices, as of gas
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