- (n.) Anything that may be possible; a possibility; potentially.
- (a.) Existing in possibility, not in actuality.
- (a.) Being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result; efficacious; influential.
- (n.) In the theory of gravitation or of other forces acting in space, a function of the rectangular coordinates which determine the position of a point, such that its differential coefficients with respect to the coordinates are equal to the components of the force at the point considered; -- also called potential function or force function. It is called also Newtonian potential when the force is directed to a fixed center and is inversely as the square of the distance from the center.
- (n.) The energy of an electrical charge measured by its power to do work; hence, the degree of electrification as referred to some standard, as that of the earth; electro-motive force.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). potential. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/potential/definitions/2047949 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "potential" http://smartdefine.org/potential/definitions/2047949 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, potential, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/potential/definitions/2047949>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "potential" 27 May 2011. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/potential/definitions/2047949> |