Adjacent Words

Current definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CURRENT, a. [L., to flow or run.]
1. Literally, flowing, running, passing. Hence, passing from person to person, or from hand to hand; circulating; as current opinions; current coin. Hence, common, general or fashionable; generally received; popular; as the current notions of the day or age; current folly.
2. Established by common estimation; generally received; as the current value of coin.
3. Passable; that may be allowed or admitted.
4. Now passing; present in its course; as the current month or year.
CURRENT, n.
1. A flowing or passing; a stream; applied to fluids; as a current of water, or of air. The gulf stream is a remarkable current in the Atlantic. A current sets into the Mediterranean.
2. Course; progressive motion, or movement; continuation; as the current of time.
3. A connected series; successive course; as the current of events.
4. General or main course; as the current of opinion.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: occurring in or belonging to the present time; "current events"; "the current topic"; "current negotiations"; "current psychoanalytic theories"; "the ship's current position" [ant: noncurrent] n
1: a flow of electricity through a conductor; "the current was measured in amperes" [syn: current, electric current]
2: a steady flow of a fluid (usually from natural causes); "the raft floated downstream on the current"; "he felt a stream of air"; "the hose ejected a stream of water" [syn: current, stream]
3: dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas; "two streams of development run through American history"; "stream of consciousness"; "the flow of thought"; "the current of history" [syn: stream, flow, current]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English curraunt, from Anglo-French corant, present participle of cure, courre to run, from Latin currere — more at car Date: 14th century 1. a. archaic running, flowing b. (1) presently elapsing <the current year> (2) occurring in or existing at the present time <the current crisis> (3) most recent <the magazine's current issue> 2. used as a medium of exchange 3. generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment <current fashions> • currently adverb • currentness noun II. noun Date: 14th century 1. a. the part of a fluid body (as air or water) moving continuously in a certain direction b. the swiftest part of a stream c. a tidal or nontidal movement of lake or ocean water d. flow marked by force or strength 2. a. a tendency or course of events that is usually the result of an interplay of forces <currents of public opinion> b. a prevailing mood ; strain 3. a flow of electric charge; also the rate of such flow Synonyms: see tendency

U.S. Military Dictionary

A body of water moving in a certain direction and caused by wind and density differences in water. The effects of a current are modified by water depth, underwater topography, basin shape, land masses, and deflection from the earth's rotation. (JP 401.6)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 belonging to the present time; happening now (current events; the current week). 2 (of money, opinion, a rumour, a word, etc.) in general circulation or use. --n. 1 a body of water, air, etc., moving in a definite direction, esp. through a stiller surrounding body. 2 a an ordered movement of electrically charged particles. b a quantity representing the intensity of such movement. 3 (usu. foll. by of) a general tendency or course (of events, opinions, etc.). Phrases and idioms: current account a bank account from which money may be drawn without notice. pass current be generally accepted as true or genuine. Derivatives: currentness n. Etymology: ME f. OF corant f. L currere run

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Current Cur"rent, n. [Cf. F. courant. See Current, a. ] 1. A flowing or passing; onward motion. Hence: A body of fluid moving continuously in a certain direction; a stream; esp., the swiftest part of it; as, a current of water or of air; that which resembles a stream in motion; as, a current of electricity. Two such silver currents, when they join, Do glorify the banks that bound them in. --Shak. The surface of the ocean is furrowed by currents, whose direction . . . the navigator should know. --Nichol. 2. General course; ordinary procedure; progressive and connected movement; as, the current of time, of events, of opinion, etc. Current meter, an instrument for measuring the velocity, force, etc., of currents. Current mill, a mill driven by a current wheel. Current wheel, a wheel dipping into the water and driven by the current of a stream or by the ebb and flow of the tide. Syn: Stream; course. See Stream.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Current Cur"rent (k?r"rent), a. [OE. currant, OF. curant, corant, p. pr. of curre, corre, F. courre, courir, to run, from L. currere; perh. akin to E. horse. Cf. Course, Concur, Courant, Coranto.] 1. Running or moving rapidly. [Archaic] Like the current fire, that renneth Upon a cord. --Gower. To chase a creature that was current then In these wild woods, the hart with golden horns. --Tennyson. 2. Now passing, as time; as, the current month. 3. Passing from person to person, or from hand to hand; circulating through the community; generally received; common; as, a current coin; a current report; current history. That there was current money in Abraham's time is past doubt. --Arbuthnot. Your fire-new stamp of honor is scarce current. --Shak. His current value, which is less or more as men have occasion for him. --Grew. 4. Commonly estimated or acknowledged. 5. Fitted for general acceptance or circulation; authentic; passable. O Buckingham, now do I play the touch To try if thou be current gold indeed. --Shak. Account current. See under Account. Current money, lawful money. --Abbott.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(currents) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. A current is a steady and continuous flowing movement of some of the water in a river, lake, or sea. Under normal conditions, the ocean currents of the tropical Pacific travel from east to west... The couple were swept away by the strong current. N-COUNT 2. A current is a steady flowing movement of air. I felt a current of cool air blowing in my face. N-COUNT: usu with supp 3. An electric current is a flow of electricity through a wire or circuit. A powerful electric current is passed through a piece of graphite. N-COUNT 4. A particular current is a particular feeling, idea, or quality that exists within a group of people. Each party represents a distinct current of thought... N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n 5. Current means happening, being used, or being done at the present time. The current situation is very different to that in 1990... He plans to repeal a number of current policies... ADJ: usu ADJ n • currently Twelve potential vaccines are currently being tested on human volunteers... ADV: ADV before v 6. Ideas and customs that are current are generally accepted and used by most people. Current thinking suggests that toxins only have a small part to play in the build up of cellulite... ADJ 7. see also alternating current, direct current

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Common, general, popular, rife, generally received, in every one's mouth. 2. Circulating (as money), passing from hand to hand. 3. Present, existing, instant, now passing. II. n. 1. Stream, moving volume (of fluid). 2. Tide, running water. 3. Course, progression.

Moby Thesaurus

AC, Brownian movement, DC, Zeitgeist, a la mode, absorption current, accepted, accessible, accidental, accompanying, accustomed, active current, actual, ado, advance, advised, affirmed, affluence, afflux, affluxion, afloat, afoot, aim, air current, all the rage, all the thing, alternating current, angular motion, announced, as is, ascending, ascent, au courant, au fait, average, aware, axial motion, azimuth, backflowing, backing, backward motion, bandied about, base current, bearing, being, bent, besetting, broadcast, brought to notice, bruited about, career, cathode current, circulated, circumstantial, climbing, coeval, collector current, common, common knowledge, common property, commonly known, commonplace, concourse, conduction current, confluence, conflux, conformable, consuetudinary, contemporaneous, contemporary, convection current, conventional, course, crosscurrent, current of air, customary, cycle, declared, defluxion, delta current, descending, descent, dielectric displacement current, diffused, direct current, direction, direction line, displacement current, disseminated, distributed, doing, dominant, downdraft, downflow, downpour, downward motion, draft, drift, driftage, ebbing, eddy current, electric current, electric stream, electron cloud, electron flow, electron gas, electron stream, emission current, epidemic, established, eventuating, everyday, exciting current, existent, existing, extant, fall wind, familiar, fashionable, flight, flood, flow, flow of air, flowing, fluency, flux, following wind, forward motion, free alternating current, fresh, galvanic current, generally accepted, glacial movement, going about, going around, going on, gush, habitual, hackneyed, happening, head wind, heading, helmsmanship, high-frequency current, hip, household, idle current, immanent, immediate, in being, in circulation, in effect, in existence, in fashion, in force, in hand, in print, in style, in the air, in the know, in the news, in the wind, in vogue, incidental, inclination, indraft, induced current, induction current, inflow, informed, inhalation, inrush, inspiration, instant, ionization current, jetstream, juice, katabatic wind, known, latest, lay, lie, line, line of direction, line of march, living, low-frequency current, made public, magnetizing current, main current, mainstream, mill run, millrace, mod, modern, modish, monsoon, motion, mounting, movement, movement of air, multiphase current, navigation, new, newfashioned, normal, normative, notorious, oblique motion, obtaining, occasional, occurring, on, on foot, ongoing, onrush, onward course, open, ordinary, orientation, outflow, output current, pandemic, passage, passing, piloting, plate current, platitudinous, plunging, point, popular, posted, predominant, predominating, prescribed, prescriptive, present, present-age, present-day, present-time, prevailing, prevalent, proclaimed, progress, propagated, proverbial, public, published, pulsating direct current, quarter, race, radial motion, rampant, random motion, range, reactive current, received, reflowing, refluence, reflux, regnant, regression, regular, regulation, reigning, reported, resultant, retrogression, rife, rising, rotary current, routine, ruling, rumored, run, running, rush, set, sideward motion, simultaneous, single-phase alternating current, sinking, smart, soaring, space charge, spate, spread, standard, stated, steerage, steering, stereotyped, sternway, stock, stray current, stream, stream of air, stylish, subsiding, subsistent, subsisting, surge, swing, tail wind, taking place, talked about, talked-about, talked-of, telecast, televised, tendency, tenor, that be, that is, the general tendency, the main course, thermionic current, thermoelectric current, three-phase alternating current, tide, time spirit, time-honored, tone, topical, track, traditional, traject, trajet, trend, trendy, trite, truistic, under the sun, under way, undercurrent, undertow, universal, universally admitted, universally recognized, up-to-date, up-to-datish, up-to-the-minute, updraft, upward motion, usual, vernacular, voltaic current, water flow, watt current, way, well-kenned, well-known, well-recognized, well-understood, whispered, whispered about, widely known, widespread, wind, wonted