AC voltage symbol (V~)
The AC voltage setting. A V with a wavy line (V~) measures alternating current volts; the wave is the standard mark for alternating current.
Easily confused with
How to read it
Fluke’s guide to the multimeter dial marks AC voltage ∿ V and AC millivolts ∿ mV, and Klein Tools and Extech list the wave on their displays as AC, alternating current. It is number 5032 in the IEC’s register of equipment symbols, which Philips’s symbol guide gives as equipment suitable for alternating current only, also used to identify the relevant terminals. Unicode encodes it as ∿, SINE WAVE, with the note “alternating current”.
On Fluke’s 115 and 117 the AC voltage position reads from 0.06 to 600 V, and its Hz button reads the frequency of the same signal, from 5 Hz to 50 kHz. Some dials have more than one AC position: Fluke’s guide also lists AC voltage with low input impedance (LoZ) and AC voltage with a low-pass filter.
Also searched as: AC millivolts, AC volts symbol, alternating current symbol, mV AC, V~, VAC, V with a wavy line.
These pages describe what each setting, marking and reading means. They are not instructions for measuring anything. Meters differ between makers and models: the meter’s own manual says what each of its symbols means, which measurements it is rated for, and how to use it safely.
Look-alikes
A V with a solid line over dashes is DC voltage. A wave beside an A is AC current. Klein’s MM400 has a single V position that starts in AC and switches to DC with its SEL button, with AC or DC on the display.
The warning symbol on the display
Fluke’s 114, 115 and 117 show a hazardous voltage symbol on the display when the meter measures 30 V or more, AC or DC, or a voltage overload (OL).
Read next
- Next in Multimeter symbolsAmps symbol (A, mA and µA)The current settings. A is amps, mA milliamps (thousandths of an amp) and µA microamps (millionths). A wave beside the letter means AC current, and a solid line over dashes means DC current.
- The same shape in Accessibility symbolsAudio description symbol (AD)AD stands for audio description: a narrator describes what is happening on screen or on stage in the pauses between the dialogue, for people who are blind or have low vision.
More multimeter symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves or letters and numbers.
Sources
- Multimeter Symbols, Buttons, Dials, and Display, Fluke learning centre article, Fluke Corporation, Digital multimeter dial; display
- 114, 115, and 117 True-rms Multimeters: Users Manual, PN 2572573, July 2006, Rev. 1, 2/07, Fluke Corporation (copy hosted by UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering), Unsafe voltage; Rotary switch positions
- MM400 Auto-Ranging Digital Multimeter: Instruction Manual, MM400 instruction manual, Klein Tools (copy hosted by UBC Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences), Symbols on LCD; Operating instructions, AC/DC voltage
- Mini Multimeter with Non-Contact Voltage Detector, Model EX330: User’s Guide, EX330-EU-ENG V4.2 1/08, Extech Instruments (copy hosted by Core Electronics), Display symbols and annunciators
- Electricity and electronics symbols, Philips symbol glossary (IEC 60417 / IEC 60878 graphical symbols), Philips, IEC 60878 5032
- Mathematical Operators, Range: 2200–22FF (code chart), The Unicode Standard, Unicode Consortium, U+223F
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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