potential energy

This term describes stored energy based on the configuration or position of an object. It is most commonly associated with gravitational height, such as a rock perched on a cliff, but also encompasses elastic energy in a stretched spring or chemical energy in molecular bonds.

In a technical or academic register, it is strictly contrasted with kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion. The transition from potential to kinetic energy is a central concept in physics, describing how stored capacity is converted into active movement.