litmus

American  

[lit-muhs] / ˈlɪt məs /

noun

1. a blue coloring matter obtained from certain lichens, especially Roccella tinctoria. In alkaline solution litmus turns blue, in acid solution, red: widely used as a chemical indicator.

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litmus British  

/ ˈlɪtməs /

noun

1. a soluble powder obtained from certain lichens. It turns red under acid conditions and blue under basic conditions and is used as an indicator

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litmus Scientific  

/ lĭt′məs /

1. A colored powder, obtained from certain lichens, that changes to red in an acid solution and to blue in an alkaline solution. Litmus is a mixture of various closely related heterocyclic organic compounds.

2. ◆ Litmus is typically added to paper to make litmus paper, which can be used to determine whether a solution is basic or acidic by dipping a strip of the paper into the solution and seeing how the paper changes color.

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litmus Cultural  

1. In chemistry, a kind of paper used to tell whether a solution is an acid or a base. Acids turn blue litmus paper red; bases turn red litmus paper blue. Other testing paper or sophisticated instruments can be used to measure the pH of a solution more precisely.

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Discover More

The term litmus is often used to refer to a general and simple test: “Your vote on this issue is a litmus test of your political philosophy.”

Etymology

Origin of litmus

1495–1505; earlier lytmos < Old Norse litmosi dye-moss, equivalent to lit- color, dye + mosi moss

Example Sentences

“I think ‘Wuthering Heights’ will be our litmus test to see if method dressing will spill over into historically inspired garments,” says Bretaña.

From Los Angeles Times

Pakistan received three bids on Tuesday for the privatisation of its embattled national carrier PIA, in what is seen as a litmus test of Islamabad's efforts to sell loss-making state firms.

From Barron's

Still, the ubiquity, complexity and accountability tax filing requires make it a good litmus test of the AI zealots and doomsayers’ beliefs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Memory-chip maker Micron Technology reports earnings on Wednesday, providing the latest litmus test of demand for tech stocks.

From The Wall Street Journal

There are no political, religious or secularist orthodoxies or litmus tests.

From The Wall Street Journal