amp
amp Lexical Profile
amp Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An electronic device for increasing the strength of electrical signals, especially one used to make musical instruments or vocals sound louder through a speaker.
"The guitarist plugged his cable into the amp and adjusted the volume."
The standard base unit of electric current in the International System of Units (SI); an ampere.
"That heavy-duty power tool requires a circuit rated for at least twenty amps."
• verb
To make someone feel excited, energetic, or enthusiastic, or to increase the intensity of something (usually followed by "up").
"The coach's passionate speech really amped the players up before the championship game."
To increase the strength or volume of an audio signal using an electronic amplifier.
"They decided to amp the acoustic instruments so the music could be heard across the outdoor venue."
• Rhymes for amp
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the late 19th century as a shortened form of "ampere" (named after French physicist André-Marie Ampère), and later independently in the mid-20th century as an informal clipping of "amplifier."