n.
Pronunciation: ' am- ˌ pir also - ˌ per
Function: noun
Etymology: André-Marie Ampère
Date: 1881
1 : the practical meter-kilogram-second unit of electric current that is equivalent to a flow of one coulomb per second or to the steady current produced by one volt applied across a resistance of one ohm
2 : the base unit of electric current in the International System of Units that is equal to a constant current which when maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length and negligible circular sections one meter apart in a vacuum produces between the conductors a force equal to 2 × 10 -7 newton per meter of length