Definitions for potential
pəˈtɛn ʃəlpo·ten·tial

Princeton's WordNet(3.37 / 11 votes)Rate this definition:

1. potential, potentiality, potencynoun

   the inherent capacity for coming into being

2. electric potential, potential, potential difference, potential drop, voltageadjective

   the difference in electrical charge between two points in a circuit expressed in volts

3. potential, possibleadjective

   existing in possibility

   "a potential problem"; "possible uses of nuclear power"

4. likely, potentialadjective

   expected to become or be; in prospect

   "potential clients"

Wiktionary(4.33 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. potentialnoun

   Currently unrealized ability.

   Even from a young age it was clear that she had great musical potential.

   Etymology: From potentialis, from potentia, from potens; see potent.

2. potentialnoun

   The gravitational potential is the radial (irrotational, static) component of a gravitational field, also known as the Newtonian potential or the gravitoelectric field.

   Etymology: From potentialis, from potentia, from potens; see potent.

3. potentialnoun

   The work (energy) required to bring a unit positive electric charge from an infinite distance to a specified point against an electric field.

   Etymology: From potentialis, from potentia, from potens; see potent.

4. potentialnoun

   A verbal construction or form stating something is possible or probable.

   Etymology: From potentialis, from potentia, from potens; see potent.

5. potentialadjective

   Existing in possibility, not in actuality.

   Etymology: From potentialis, from potentia, from potens; see potent.

6. potentialadjective

   Being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result; efficacious; influential.

   Etymology: From potentialis, from potentia, from potens; see potent.

7. potentialadjective

   A potential field is an irrotational (static) field.

   From Maxwell equations (6.20) it follows that the electric field is potential: E(r)uE000128544uE001=uE000128545uE001u2212gradu03C6(r).uE000128546uE001

   Etymology: From potentialis, from potentia, from potens; see potent.

8. potentialadjective

   A potential flow is an irrotational flow.

   The non-viscous flow of the vacuum should be potential (irrotational).uE000128547uE001

   Etymology: From potentialis, from potentia, from potens; see potent.

9. potentialadjective

   Referring to a verbal construction of form stating something is possible or probable.

   Etymology: From potentialis, from potentia, from potens; see potent.

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Potentialadjective

   being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result; efficacious; influential

   Etymology: [Cf. F. potentiel. See Potency.]

2. Potentialadjective

   existing in possibility, not in actuality

   Etymology: [Cf. F. potentiel. See Potency.]

3. Potentialnoun

   anything that may be possible; a possibility; potentially

   Etymology: [Cf. F. potentiel. See Potency.]

4. Potentialnoun

   in the theory of gravitation, or of other forces acting in space, a function of the rectangular coordinates which determine the position of a point, such that its differential coefficients with respect to the coordinates are equal to the components of the force at the point considered; -- also called potential function, or force function. It is called also Newtonian potential when the force is directed to a fixed center and is inversely as the square of the distance from the center

   Etymology: [Cf. F. potentiel. See Potency.]

5. Potentialnoun

   the energy of an electrical charge measured by its power to do work; hence, the degree of electrification as referred to some standard, as that of the earth; electro-motive force

   Etymology: [Cf. F. potentiel. See Potency.]

Freebase(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Potential

   Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple release of energy by objects to the realization of abilities in people. Examples include: In linguistics, the potential mood The mathematical study of potentials is known as potential theory; it is the study of harmonic functions on manifolds. This mathematical formulation arises from the fact that, in physics, the scalar potential is irrotational, and thus has a vanishing Laplacian — the very definition of a harmonic function. In physics, a potential may refer to the scalar potential or to the vector potential. In either case, it is a field defined in space, from which many important physical properties may be derived. Leading examples are the gravitational potential and the electric potential, from which the motion of gravitating or electrically charged bodies may be obtained. Specific forces have associated potentials, including the Coulomb potential, the van der Waals potential, the Lennard-Jones potential and the Yukawa potential. In electrochemistry there are Galvani potential, Volta potential, electrode potential, standard electrode potential.In Thermodynamics potential refers to thermodynamic potential.

The Standard Electrical Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Potential

   Potential in general may be treated as an attribute of a point in space, and may express the potential energy which a unit mass would have if placed at that point. This conception of potential is that of a property attributable to a point in space, such that if a unit mass were placed there the forces acting upon it would supply the force factor of energy, while the body would supply the mass factor. This property is expressible in units, which produce, if the supposed mass is a unit mass, units of work or energy, but potential itself is neither. Thus taking gravitation, a pound mass on the surface of the earth (assuming it to be a sphere of 4,000 miles radius) would require the expenditure of 21,120,000 foot pounds to remove it to an infinite distance against gravity. The potential of a point in space upon the surface of the earth is therefore negative and is represented by -21,120,000*32.2 foot poundals (32.2 = acceleration of gravity). (See Poundal.) In practice and conventionally all points on the earth's surface are taken as of zero potential. [Transcriber's note; 21,120,000 foot pounds is about 8 KWh.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. potential

   The ability or capacity to create.

   The potential for the future use of the software was so clear, we were delighted.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 19, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Possibility

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'potential' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1558

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'potential' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2792

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'potential' in Nouns Frequency: #965

4. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'potential' in Adjectives Frequency: #189

How to pronounce potential?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say potential in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of potential in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of potential in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of potential in a Sentence

1. Daniel Larrouturou:

   Inflation has basically disappeared in Europe, this is it. Prices are down in a lot of countries and salaries are going nowhere. There's a risk to see the drop in oil pushing the euro zone into deflation, but we're not there yet, and a potential round of quantitative easing by the European Central Bank (ECB) could help avoid that.

2. Benjamin Lu:

   Growing challenges in the macroeconomic environment have kept bullish bets in check as risk appetites remain soft over potential weakness in global fuel demand.

3. Ryan Smolkin:

   When we started, we were very focused on the 18-to-25 crowd in university towns coming to us after the bars, but now we’ve made poutine mainstream. We have customers coming to us at different times of day. We haven’t even started to reach our potential.

4. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson:

   Immediately following the incident in December 2014, TSA increased the random and unpredictable screening of aviation workers at various airport access points to mitigate potential security vulnerabilities.

5. Cara Christ:

   We know there is a potential for anything pregnant women eat or drink to cross the placenta and have an effect on their baby’s health.

Popularity rank by frequency of use