Wheatstone bridge

noun

An instrument used to measure an unknown electrical resistance by balancing two legs of a bridge circuit, one leg of which includes the unknown component.

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Meanings

nounWheatstone bridge (plural Wheatstone bridges)

plural Wheatstone bridges

  1. An instrument used to measure an unknown electrical resistance by balancing two legs of a bridge circuit, one leg of which includes the unknown component.

Origin

Named after English physicist and inventor Charles Wheatstone (1802–1875), who improved and popularized the original (1833) invention of Samuel Hunter Christie.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French pont de Wheatstone
  • pont de Wheatstoneinstrument used to measure an unknown electrical resistance
German Wheatstone-Brücke, Wheatstonesche Brücke
  • Wheatstone-Brückeinstrument used to measure an unknown electrical resistance
  • Wheatstonesche Brückeinstrument used to measure an unknown electrical resistance
  • Wheatstonesche Messbrückeinstrument used to measure an unknown electrical resistance
Indonesian jembatan Wheatstone
  • jembatan Wheatstoneinstrument used to measure an unknown electrical resistance
Portuguese ponte de Wheatstone
  • ponte de Wheatstoneinstrument used to measure an unknown electrical resistance
Cite this entry
APA

Wheatstone bridge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wheatstone%20bridge

MLA

“Wheatstone bridge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wheatstone%20bridge. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Wheatstone bridge,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wheatstone%20bridge.

Source: Wheatstone bridge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.