Source : WordNet®

capacitor
     n : an electrical device characterized by its capacity to store
         an electric charge [syn: {capacitance}, {condenser}, {electrical
         condenser}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

capacitor
     
         An electronic device that can store electrical
        charge.  The charge stored Q in Coulombs is related to the
        capacitance C in Farads and the voltage V across the capacitor
        in Volts by Q = CV.
     
        The basis of a {dynamic RAM} cell is a capacitor.  They are
        also used for power-supply smoothing (or "decoupling").  This
        is especially important in digital circuits where a digital
        device switching between states causes a sudden demand for
        current.  Without sufficient local power supply decoupling,
        this current "spike" cannot be supplied directly from the
        power supply due to the inductance of the connectors and so
        will cause a sharp drop in the power supply voltage near the
        switching device.  This can cause other devices to malfunction
        resulting in hard to trace {glitch}es.
     
        (1995-04-12)