equivalent weight

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. the combining power, especially in grams gram equivalent, of an element or compound, equivalent to hydrogen as a standard of 1.00797 or oxygen as a standard of 8; the atomic weight divided by the valence.

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equivalent weight British  

noun

1. Also called: gram equivalent.  the weight of an element or compound that will combine with or displace 8 grams of oxygen or 1.007 97 grams of hydrogen

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Etymology

Origin of equivalent weight

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

equivalent weight

Head of Flood and Incident Risk Management at Natural Resources Wales, Jeremy Parr, said that the river's levels had reached 18 times their normal capacity, the equivalent weight of 371 cars.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

In 2021, the company, according to its own annual report, used more than 750,000 metric tons of plastic containers for its products — the equivalent weight of 74 Eiffel Towers.

From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2023

“The training also encourages offices to use social media to communicate both hazards with equivalent weight, to make it clear that both threats are possible during an event,” Boustead said.

From Washington Post ● May 4, 2022

The ordnance contains almost 19,000 pounds of Composition H6, an explosive compound that is roughly one-third stronger than an equivalent weight of TNT.

From New York Times ● Apr. 14, 2017

According to the same law, a certain weight of soda would always require a certain specific equivalent weight of an acid, say hydrochloric acid, to neutralise its alkaline or basic properties, producing a salt.

From The Chemistry of Hat Manufacturing Lectures Delivered Before the Hat Manufacturers' Association by Shonk, Albert