current - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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.

current (countable and uncountable, plural currents)

  1. The generally unidirectional movement of a gas or fluid.
    • 2012, Chinle Miller, In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition:
      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. The part of a fluid that moves continuously in a certain direction, especially (oceanography) ellipsis of ocean current.
    Synonyms: flow, stream
  3. (electricity) Ellipsis of electric current.
    1. (by extension, South Asia) electricity, power in general.
  4. A tendency or a course of events.
    Synonyms: flow, stream, tendency

part of a fluid that moves continuously in a certain direction — see also ocean current

time rate of flow of electric charge

tendency or a course of events

current (comparative currenter or more current, superlative currentest or most current)

  1. Existing or occurring at the moment.
    Synonyms: present; see also Thesaurus:present
    Antonyms: future, past
    current events
    current leaders
    current negotiations
    • 2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly‎[1], volume 189, number 6, page 18:
      Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.
  2. Generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment; having currency.
    Synonyms: fashionable, prevailing, prevalent, rife, up-to-date; see also Thesaurus:fashionable
    Antonyms: out-of-date, unfashionable; see also Thesaurus:unfashionable
    current affairs
    current bills and coins
    current fashions
    • 1727, John Arbuthnot, Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights and Measures. Explain'd and exemplify'd in several dissertations:
      That there was current money in Abraham's time is past doubt.
    • 2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 68:
      The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them […] is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies. […] current tax rules make it easy for all sorts of firms to generate […] “stateless income”: profit subject to tax in a jurisdiction that is neither the location of the factors of production that generate the income nor where the parent firm is domiciled.
  3. (South Asia) Electric; of or relating to electricity.
    current bill
    • 2021 June 13, Ravali Hymavathi, “Telangana: Even The TSSPDCL Is Facing Heavy Losses Due To Covid-19”, in The Hans India‎[2]:
      In April and May this year, the average daily current consumption dropped to 55 MU […] Compared to household electricity charges, the current unit charge used by commercial companies is higher. […] Electricity consumption is generally higher in summer as compared to monsoon and winter. The use of ACs will increase not only in homes but also in commercial establishments and current consumption will increase.
  4. (obsolete) Running or moving rapidly.
    Synonym: speeding

existing or occurring at the moment

generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment

current

  1. third-person plural future active indicative of currō

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