electronic

UK: /ɪlɛkˈtrɒnɪk/, /ˌiːlɛkˈtrɒnɪk/

US: /ɪlɛkˈtrɑnɪk, ˌilɛk-/

US: (i lek tron′ik, ē′lek-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

e•lec•tron•ic /ɪlɛkˈtrɑnɪk, ˌilɛk-/   adj. 

1. Electronics of or relating to electronics or devices and systems developed through electronics:
   [usually: before a noun] electronic banking; electronic music.
2. Electronics of or relating to electrons.
3. Computing of, relating to, or controlled by computers:
   electronic mail.

e•lec•tron•i•cal•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

e•lec•tron•ic  (i lek tron′ik, ē′lek-), adj. 

1. Electronics of or pertaining to electronics or to devices, circuits, or systems developed through electronics.
2. Electronics of or pertaining to electrons or to an electron.
3. (of a musical instrument) using electric or electronic means to produce or modify the sound.
4. Computing of, pertaining to, or controlled by computers, or computer products and services.

• electron + -ic 1900–05

e•lec•tron′i•cal•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

electronic / ɪlɛkˈtrɒnɪk ˌiːlɛk-/ adjective

1. of, concerned with, using, or operated by devices in which electrons are conducted through a semiconductor, free space, or gas
2. of or concerned with electronics
3. of or concerned with electrons or an electron: an electronic energy level in a molecule
4. involving or concerned with the representation, storage, or transmission of information by electronic systems: electronic mail, electronic shopping

elecˈtronically adverb

USAGE
Electronic is used to refer to equipment, such as television sets, computers, etc, in which the current is controlled by transistors, valves, and similar components and also to the components themselves. Electrical is used in a more general sense, often to refer to the use of electricity as a whole as opposed to other forms of energy: electrical engineering; an electrical appliance. Electric, in many cases used interchangeably with electrical, is often restricted to the description of particular devices or to concepts relating to the flow of current: electric fire; electric charge