solute
Americannoun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of solute
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin solūtus, past participle of solvere to loosen, dissolve. See solve
Explanation
Solute is just a few letters short of solution, a substance that is dissolved in liquid. In science classes, a solute might be part of your experiment. Pronounced "SAHL-yoot," the noun solute has close word relatives in dissolve, soluble, and solid — all of which are rooted in the Latin word solvere, meaning "to loosen." A solute changes state when it is dissolved. In sugar water, the solute is the sugar because it changes from solid to liquid. The water is not a solute.
Vocabulary lists containing solute
Chemistry - Introductory
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Chemistry - High School
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The ACT Science Test: Chemistry Review 1
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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.
See Examples For:
Upon solidification, a phase separation into a pure solvent, here ice, and a solute and particles occurs, with the ice templating the solute/particle phase.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024
The total concentration of solute particles in a solution also determines its osmotic pressure.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Calculations of this sort are most conveniently performed using a compound’s molar solubility, measured as moles of dissolved solute per liter of saturated solution.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Assuming that no equilibria other than dissolution are involved, calculate the concentration of all solute species in each of the following solutions of salts in contact with a solution containing a common ion.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
As a rule a membrane is much more permeable to a solute whose molecule is of small dimensions.
From The Mechanism of Life by Leduc, Stéphane
A wide variety of solvents, solutes and particles can be used to create the desired structures, shapes and functionalities.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024
These properties are fundamental to the survival of plants as they mediate water and nutrient uptake, govern the distribution of solutes through plants, remove toxins from the cytosol, and recycle valuable sugars.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2023
The endodermis contains a barrier to the movement of solutes and water that is made of lignin, the same material present in wood.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2023
Phloem is the second type of vascular tissue; it transports sugars, proteins, and other solutes throughout the plant.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
When these are brought into contact there is no transference of water from one solution to the other, but there is a transference of the solutes.
From The Mechanism of Life by Leduc, Stéphane
Definitions 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.
