Adjacent Words

electrolyte definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a solution that conducts electricity; "the proper amount and distribution of electrolytes in the body is essential for health"

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1834 1. a nonmetallic electric conductor in which current is carried by the movement of ions 2. a. a substance that when dissolved in a suitable solvent or when fused becomes an ionic conductor b. any of the ions (as of sodium or calcium) that in biological fluid regulate or affect most metabolic processes (as the flow of nutrients into and waste products out of cells)

Britannica Concise

Substance that conducts electric current as a result of dissociation of its molecules into positively and negatively charged particles called ions. The most familiar electrolytes are acids, bases, and salts, which ionize when dissolved in solvents such as water or alcohol. Many salts, incl. sodium chloride, behave as electrolytes when melted in the absence of solvent, since they have ionic bonds. The most commonly used electrolytes are dissolved metal salts for electroplating metals and acids in electric batteries.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a substance which conducts electricity when molten or in solution, esp. in an electric cell or battery. 2 a solution of this. Etymology: ELECTRO- + Gk lutos released f. luo loosen

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Electrolyte E*lec"tro*lyte, n. [Electro- + Gr. ? a dissoluble: cf. F. ['e]lectrolyte.] (Physics & Chem.) A compound decomposable, or subjected to decomposition, by an electric current.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(electrolytes) An electrolyte is a substance, usually a liquid, which electricity can pass through. (TECHNICAL) N-COUNT