Current
adj, name, noun ·Very common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 The generally unidirectional movement of a gas or fluid. countable, uncountable
"The mantle is important to our discussion in that its viscous nature can conduct convection currents that have effects on the crust upon which we live."
- 2 a steady flow of a fluid (usually from natural causes) wordnet
- 3 The part of a fluid that moves continuously in a certain direction, especially (oceanography) ellipsis of ocean current. countable, uncountable
- 4 dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas wordnet
- 5 Ellipsis of electric current. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
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- 6 a flow of electricity through a conductor wordnet
- 7 Ellipsis of electric current.; electricity, power in general. South-Asia, broadly, countable, uncountable
- 8 A tendency or a course of events. countable, uncountable
- 1 Existing or occurring at the moment.
"current events"
- 2 Generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment; having currency.
"current affairs"
- 3 Electric; of or relating to electricity. South-Asia
"current bill"
- 4 Running or moving rapidly. obsolete
"For here we met, some ten or twelve of us, / To chase a creature that was current then / In these wild woods, the hart with golden horns."
- 1 occurring in or belonging to the present time wordnet
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"The bridge couldn't sustain the force of the strong current and collapsed."
Etymology
From Middle English curraunt, borrowed from Old French curant (French courant), present participle of courre (“to run”), from Latin currere (“to run”) (present participle currens). Doublet of courant.
Probably a variant of Currant.
Related phrases
More for "current"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.