potassium bicarbonate

[ puh-tas-ee-uhm bahy-kahr-buh-nit, -neyt ]

noun

, Chemistry, Pharmacology.

1. a white, crystalline, slightly alkaline, salty-tasting, water-soluble powder, KHCO 3 , produced by the passage of carbon dioxide through an aqueous potassium carbonate solution: used in baking as a leavening agent and in medicine as an antacid.

Word History and Origins

Origin of potassium bicarbonate¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Alkalies—sodium salicylate, potassium bicarbonate, liquor potassæ, and lithium carbonate.

From Project Gutenberg

Letzerich recommended the insufflation of quinia twice daily, using the quinia muriate with potassium bicarbonate and gum-arabic.

From Project Gutenberg