verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of acidify
Explanation
To acidify something is to chemically turn it into an acid or make it more acidic. Farmers often acidify soil by adding fertilizer to it. When you acidify something, you increase its acid content or make it more sour. Too much carbon dioxide dissolving into oceans acidifies them, one of the many negative effects of global warming. When it comes to food, you're most likely to acidify a dish by adding citrus fruits, like lemons, which taste sour. The root word of the verb acidify is the Latin acidus, which means "sour or sharp."
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.
Sulfides also acidify the water, which can accelerate weathering.
From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2024
The first step uses electricity to temporarily acidify the water, which encourages the removal of CO2.
From Scientific American • Feb. 27, 2023
Together with one of her Ph.D. supervisors, JCU marine biologist Philip Munday, Dixson pioneered research into the effects on fish of rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere, which cause the oceans to acidify.
From Science Magazine • Aug. 9, 2022
Likewise, coral reefs that help support the fishing and tourism industries are dying off in record amounts as oceans warm and acidify.
From Salon • Mar. 7, 2020
This may be inferred from the fact that, according to the advocates of these medicines, it is always difficult, and is often impossible, to acidify the stools in cholera.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
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.
