chemistry

American  

[kem-uh-stree] / ˈkɛm ə stri /

noun

chemistries plural

1. the science that deals with the composition and properties of substances and various elementary forms of matter.

2. chemical properties, reactions, phenomena, etc..

   the chemistry of carbon.

3. the interaction of one personality with another.

   The chemistry between him and his boss was all wrong.

4. sympathetic understanding; rapport.

   the astonishing chemistry between the actors.

5. any or all of the elements that make up something.

   the chemistry of love.

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chemistry British  

/ ˈkɛmɪstrɪ /

noun

1. the branch of physical science concerned with the composition, properties, and reactions of substances See also inorganic chemistry organic chemistry physical chemistry

2. the composition, properties, and reactions of a particular substance

3. the nature and effects of any complex phenomenon

   the chemistry of humour

4. informal a reaction, taken to be instinctual, between two persons

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chemistry Scientific  

/ kĕm′ĭ-strē /

1. The scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of the chemical elements and the compounds they form.

2. The composition, structure, properties, and reactions of a substance.

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chemistry Cultural  

1. The study of the composition, properties, and reactions of matter, particularly at the level of atoms and molecules.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• chemistries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chemistry

First recorded in 1590–1600; chemist + -ry; replacing earlier chymistry, chimistry

Explanation

Chemistry is the science that tells us what things and people are made of; for example, that water is really H2O, two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Chemistry deals with chemicals and elements, the building blocks of our world. The periodic table, that table of all of earth's basic elements — iron, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, etc. — comes from chemistry. Chemistry explains how atoms attract each other to become molecules. We also use the term to refer to people who are attracted to each other, either as colleagues, friends or romantic partners. Movie reviewers often say that that romantic leads have "great chemistry" — or not.

Example Sentences

"The present-day relief of Central Asia was largely built by the India-Eurasia collision and ongoing convergence," said co-author Associate Professor Stijn Glorie, from Adelaide University's School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences.

From Science Daily • May 18, 2026

In 2024, computer scientist Sir Demis Hassabis shared the Nobel prize for Chemistry for "revolutionary" work on proteins, the building blocks of life.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

The American Chemistry Council and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, two trade groups representing chemical manufacturers, sent a letter requesting a blanket exemption for their roughly 640 member companies.

From Salon • May 10, 2026

The research, published in RSC Medicinal Chemistry, found that madecassic acid can stop antibiotic-resistant E. coli from growing.

From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 2026

That said, Kamen was very much Rubens superior in the academic pecking order, for the latter was a freshly minted PhD still seeking a faculty position in the Chemistry Department.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• appeal
• beauty
• charisma
• glamour
• grace
• magic