Wiktionary
n. An appliance designed to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes by limiting the voltage supplied to an electric device by either blocking or by shorting to ground any unwanted voltages above a safe threshold.
WordNet
n. electrical device inserted in a power line to protect equipment from sudden fluctuations in current [syn: surge suppressor, spike suppressor, spike arrester, lightning arrester]
Wikipedia
A surge protector (or surge suppressor or surge diverter) is an appliance or device designed to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes. A surge protector attempts to limit the voltage supplied to an electric device by either blocking or shorting to ground any unwanted voltages above a safe threshold. This article primarily discusses specifications and components relevant to the type of protector that diverts (shorts) a voltage spike to ground; however, there is some coverage of other methods.
The terms surge protection device (SPD) and transient voltage surge suppressor (TVSS) are used to describe electrical devices typically installed in power distribution panels, process control systems, communications systems, and other heavy-duty industrial systems, for the purpose of protecting against electrical surges and spikes, including those caused by lightning. Scaled-down versions of these devices are sometimes installed in residential service entrance electrical panels, to protect equipment in a household from similar hazards.
Many power strips have basic surge protection built in; these are typically clearly labeled as such. However, power strips that do not provide surge protection are sometimes erroneously referred to as "surge protectors".
Usage examples of "surge protector".
Ann ducked her head under the desk to see if she'd somehow kicked the plug from the surge protector: the cord was right where it should be, and the green light on the surge protector was on.
Its malfunction must have caused the surge protector on her computer to fail, leaving her vulnerable to a dangerous influx of electricity.
From under the desk, even the surge protector made a small enthusiastic peep, which seemed to spur him on.
It wasn't a laptop but a full PC with a MasterPiece surge protector between the logic unit and the color monitor.
The matter settled, Doc continued to open the access door to each console until he found the main power switch on the surge protector.
She fumbled the plugs back into the sockets and heard the surge protector on her desktop computer shriek as she did so.