potassium hydroxide


nounChemistry.
  1. a white, deliquescent, water-soluble solid, KOH, usually in the form of lumps, sticks, or pellets, that upon solution in water generates heat: used chiefly in the manufacture of soap, as a laboratory reagent, and as a caustic.

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Origin of potassium hydroxide

1
First recorded in 1880–85

Words Nearby potassium hydroxide

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use potassium hydroxide in a sentence

  • This represents in a single equation the action of chlorine on hot, concentrated solutions of potassium hydroxide.

British Dictionary definitions for potassium hydroxide

potassium hydroxide

noun
  1. a white deliquescent alkaline solid used in the manufacture of soap, liquid shampoos, and detergents. Formula: KOH: Also called: caustic potash See also lye

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for potassium hydroxide

potassium hydroxide

  1. A white, corrosive, solid compound used in bleaches and to make soaps and detergents. It is deliquescent, soluble in water and very soluble in alcohol. In solution, it forms lye. Chemical formula: KOH.

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