acetate

[ as-i-teyt ]

noun

Chemistry. a salt or ester of acetic acid.
Also called acetate rayon. a synthetic filament, yarn, or fabric composed of a derivative of the acetic ester of cellulose, differing from viscose rayon in having greater strength when wet and greater sensitivity to high temperatures.

a sheet of clear plastic film fastened over the front of artwork for protection, as an overlay, or the like.
a slow-burning base material, cellulose triacetate, used for motion-picture film to minimize fire hazard during projection, and also for animation cells.

Origin of acetate

First recorded in 1820–30; acet- + -ate²

Words Nearby acetate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use acetate in a sentence

The same sort of breakdown can occur with THC-O acetate at very high temperatures.
How Mitch McConnell Accidentally Created An Unregulated THC Market | Lester Black | October 18, 2021 | FiveThirtyEight
After a pack’s first use, you’ll need to boil the hand warmers for approximately 10 minutes before using them again, effectively reactivating the chemicals and returning the sodium acetate to its liquid form.
Best hand warmers: Block the chill during your favorite winter activities | PopSci Commerce Team | February 10, 2021 | Popular-Science
He wanted to know if a butterfly could remember something about its life as a caterpillar, so he exposed caterpillars to the scent of ethyl acetate followed by a mild electric shock.
Memories Can Be Injected and Survive Amputation and Metamorphosis - Facts So Romantic | Marco Altamirano | October 20, 2020 | Nautilus
After acquiring an aversion to ethyl acetate, the caterpillars pupated and, after emerging as adult butterflies several weeks later, were tested for memory of their aversive training.
Memories Can Be Injected and Survive Amputation and Metamorphosis - Facts So Romantic | Marco Altamirano | October 20, 2020 | Nautilus
First the two molecules react together to form two other chemicals — sodium acetate and carbonic acid.
Study acid-base chemistry with at-home volcanoes | Bethany Brookshire | October 7, 2020 | Science News For Students

A record would spend years in larval form as an acetate, the big waxy master from which copies were made.
The Stacks: How Leonard Chess Helped Make Muddy Waters | Alex Belth | August 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Once both tracks hit acetate, a master record was sent to URP for pressing.
Jack White Sets World Record for Fastest Record Release | April Siese | April 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The prototypes are built from a recyclable flat foam-rubber called ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA).
Origami Shoe Design to Revolutionize Footwear | Nina Strochlic | September 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
This fluid is then heated, adding crystals of sodium acetate until it becomes perfectly clear.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
A portion of the yellow filtrate gave a reddish yellow precipitate with lead acetate.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron) | William Anderson Syme
A precipitate obtained by adding lead acetate to a filtered solution of the original substance in 50 per cent.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron) | William Anderson Syme
To the filtrate was added an excess of a solution of lead acetate in 50 per cent.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron) | William Anderson Syme
The poison, if precipitated at all by lead acetate, must have gone down in one of the preceding fractions.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron) | William Anderson Syme

British Dictionary definitions for acetate

acetate

/ (ˈæsɪˌteɪt) /

noun

any salt or ester of acetic acid, containing the monovalent ion CH 3 COO – or the group CH 3 COO-: Systematic name: ethanoate
(modifier) consisting of, containing, or concerned with the group CH 3 COO-: acetate group or radical

short for acetate rayon, cellulose acetate
a sound recording disc composed of an acetate lacquer coating on an aluminium or plastic base: used for demonstration or other short-term purposes

Origin of acetate

C19: from acetic + -ate 1

Derived forms of acetate

acetated, adjective

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 acetate

acetate

[ ăs′ĭ-tāt′ ]

A salt or ester of acetic acid. Salts of acetic acid contain a metal attached to the acetic acid radical CH3COO. Esters contain another radical, such as ethyl, attached to the acetic acid radical.
Cellulose acetate or a product made from it, especially fibers or film.

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