Meaning & use
wet cell
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountabletechnical
A battery cell that contains a liquid electrolyte, such as the lead-acid type used in cars.
Grammar: Countable: a wet cell, two wet cells. Often used in technical writing.
Patterns
- a wet cell battery
- a wet cell contains something
- use a wet cell
The car's lead-acid battery is a common example of a wet cell.
In a wet cell, the liquid electrolyte allows ions to move between the electrodes.
Wet cells must be kept upright so the electrolyte does not spill.
Word forms
| plural | wet cells |
|---|
Common combinations
- wet cell battery
- A wet cell battery needs regular checks of the fluid level.
- liquid electrolyte in a wet cell
- The liquid electrolyte in a wet cell conducts electricity.
- wet cell design
- The wet cell design has been used for over a century.
- a wet cell produces voltage
- Each wet cell produces about two volts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wet battery
- A wet battery is a battery made of one or more wet cells; the cell is the single unit.
- lead-acid battery
- This is a specific type of wet cell; not all wet cells use lead and acid.
Opposites
Word family
- dry cell noun
- A battery cell with a paste or solid electrolyte instead of a liquid.
- cell noun
- A single unit that produces electricity by chemical reaction.
Commonly confused: wet cell or dry cell?
wet cell vs dry cell
A dry cell does not have a liquid electrolyte; a wet cell does.
Practice
Which of these is a wet cell?
Choose one answer.
A car battery contains liquid electrolyte, so it is a wet cell. A watch battery is usually a dry cell, a solar panel makes electricity from light, and a fuel cell uses a continuous fuel supply.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wet cell”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.