an early form of battery consisting of a pile of paired plates of dissimilar metals, such as zinc and copper, each pair being separated from the next by a pad moistened with an electrolyte
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
volta′ic pile′, [Elect.]
- Electricityan early battery cell, consisting of several metal disks, each made of one of two dissimilar metals, arranged in an alternating series, and separated by pads moistened with an electrolyte. Also called galvanic pile, pile, Vol′ta's pile′.
- 1805–15
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'voltaic pile' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):