a flow of electrons emanating from a cathode in a vacuum tube and focused into a narrow beam.
Origin of cathode ray
First recorded in 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for cathode ray
A cathode-ray photograph of the whale, showing myself, the original Jonah, seated inside.The Enchanted Typewriter|John Kendrick Bangs
Medicine definitions for cathode ray
[ kăth′ōd′ ]
A stream of electrons emitted by the cathode in electrical discharge tubes.
One of the electrons that is emitted in a stream from a cathode-ray tube.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for cathode ray
A beam of electrons streaming from the negatively charged end of a vacuum tube (the cathode) toward a positively charged plate (the anode).
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.