dilatant
Americanadjective
-
dilating; expanding.
-
Physical Chemistry. exhibiting an increase in volume on being changed in shape, owing to a wider spacing between particles.
-
Petrology. (of rock) exhibiting an increase in volume owing to rearrangement and recrystallization of constituent grains.
adjective
-
tending to dilate; dilating
-
physics of, concerned with, or exhibiting dilatancy
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dilatant
1835–45; < Latin dīlātant- (stem of dīlātāns ), present participle of dīlātāre to dilate; see -ant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He became interested in dilatant materials, whose unique flowing and locking molecular bond was discovered in the '50s.
From Time Magazine Archive
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
