Hydro-electric \Hy`dro-e*lec"tric\, a. [Hydro-, 1 + electric.] Pertaining to, employed in, or produced by, the evolution of electricity by means of a battery in which water or steam is used. {Hydro-electric machine} (Physics), an apparatus invented by Sir William Armstrong of England for generating electricity by the escape of high-pressure steam from a series of jets connected with a strong boiler, in which the steam is produced.