dipole
noun
di·pole
| \ ˈdī-ˌpōl
\
\
Definition of dipole
1a
: a pair of equal and opposite electric charges or magnetic poles of opposite sign separated especially by a small distance
b
: a body or system (such as a molecule) having such charges or poles
2
: a radio antenna consisting of two horizontal rods in line with each other with their ends slightly separated
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Other Words from dipole
dipolar
\ ˈdī-ˌpō-lər
, ˌdī-ˈpō- \
adjective
, ˌdī-ˈpō- \
adjective
Examples of dipole in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The magnetic field due to a bar magnet looks like the electric field due to a dipole. — Rhett Allain, WIRED, "Get to Know Maxwell's Equations—You're Using Them Right Now," 6 Aug. 2019 The findings suggest that Earth’s magnetic dipole field began to collapse about 795,000 years ago and experienced what is known as an excursion, in which the field drops to a significant fraction of its original strength but does not reverse. — Jonathan O'callaghan, Scientific American, "Earth’s Magnetic Field Reversal Took Three Times Longer Than Thought," 7 Aug. 2019 This dipole field is going to be important for the next equation. — Rhett Allain, WIRED, "Get to Know Maxwell's Equations—You're Using Them Right Now," 6 Aug. 2019 The researchers designed a lunar telescope array that would include hundreds of simple dipole antennas laid flat on the ground. — Daniel Clery, Science | AAAS, "Could humanity’s return to the moon spark a new age of lunar telescopes?," 18 July 2019 The dipole antenna was a little trickier to put in place. — Denise Coffey, courant.com, "Ham Radio Operators Practice For Emergencies," 8 July 2019 The dipole array telescope—a mass of wires and poles stretched across an area the size of 57 tennis courts—took Cambridge University students more than two years to build. — Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, "50 Years Ago, a Grad Student’s Discovery Changed the Course of Astrophysics," 1 Mar. 2018 In any event, the end result is likely to be a warm-West cold-East temperature configuration, which scientists describe as the North American dipole pattern. — Jason Samenow, Washington Post, "The temperature in Siberia rose 100 degrees. The northern U.S. may pay a frigid price.," 31 Jan. 2018 Regardless what it's called, this dipole pattern – abnormally high temperatures over much of the West along with chilly conditions in the East – has dominated North American weather in four of the past five winters. — Jennifer Francis, CBS News, "Is warming in the Arctic behind this year’s crazy winter weather?," 11 Jan. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dipole.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for dipole
dipole
noun
di·pole
| \ ˈdī-ˌpōl
\
\
Medical Definition of dipole
1
: a pair of equal and opposite electric charges or magnetic poles of opposite sign separated by a small distance
2
: a body or system (as a molecule) having such charges