Word
photovoltaic
Phoneticspho·to·volta·ic
US/ˌfoʊtəˌvoʊɫˈteɪɪk/
UK/fˌəʊtəʊvəʊltˈeɪɪk/
Definition
adj. describing a way to make electricity directly from sunlight. You usually see this word when people talk about solar panels.
adj. relating to the production of electric current at the junction of two substances exposed to light. Typically describes the technology or process used in solar energy systems.
Examples
“The house has a photovoltaic system on the roof.”
“The government is offering subsidies to encourage homeowners to install photovoltaic panels to reduce carbon emissions.”
“Advances in thin-film photovoltaic technology have significantly increased the efficiency of solar energy harvesting in regions with lower average sunlight hours.”
Examples
simple
“The house has a photovoltaic system on the roof.”
contextual
“The government is offering subsidies to encourage homeowners to install photovoltaic panels to reduce carbon emissions.”
complex
“Advances in thin-film photovoltaic technology have significantly increased the efficiency of solar energy harvesting in regions with lower average sunlight hours.”
Usage
Typically used as an attributive adjective before nouns like 'cell', 'panel', or 'array'.
Real-World Examples
“They found that an increase in the AfD's share of the vote is followed by relatively slower adoption of electric cars and photovoltaic systems.” “Photovoltaic technology, most commonly seen as bulky solar panels used on solar farms, is expected to become a dominant energy source by 2050.” Etymology
From photo- + voltaic.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/photovoltaic