Definition of "diode" [diode]

• An electronic device that restricts current flow chiefly to one direction. (noun)
• An electron tube having a cathode and an anode. (noun)
• A two-terminal semiconductor device used chiefly as a rectifier. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The evil geniuses* at Wicked Lasers have weaponized a laser for the consumer market by simply (?) rejiggering an unreasonably-powerful blue laser diode from a home theater projector and placing it in a lightsaber casing."
• "Otellini compared the Obama administration to a "diode" -- an electronic device that conducts electric current in only one direction."
• "The author of the above hypothesis wrote his degree paper on silicon carbide light-emitting diode, that is why the ending of the forth series is the most simple- it is a modern light-emitting diode."