adiabatic
[ ad-ee-uh-bat-ik, ey-dahy-uh- ]
/ ˌæd i əˈbæt ɪk, ˌeɪ daɪ ə- /
Save This Word!
adjective
occurring without gain or loss of heat (opposed to diabatic): an adiabatic process.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!
Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!
Question 1 of 12
On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
Origin of adiabatic
OTHER WORDS FROM adiabatic
ad·i·a·bat·i·cal·ly, adverbDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
British Dictionary definitions for adiabatic
adiabatic
/ (ˌædɪəˈbætɪk, ˌeɪ-) /
adjective
(of a thermodynamic process) taking place without loss or gain of heat
noun
a curve or surface on a graph representing the changes in two or more characteristics (such as pressure and volume) of a system undergoing an adiabatic process
Word Origin for adiabatic
C19: from Greek adiabatos not to be crossed, impassable (to heat), from a- 1 + diabatos passable, from dia- across + bainein to go
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 adiabatic
adiabatic
[ ăd′ē-ə-băt′ĭk ]
Occurring without gain or loss of heat. When a gas is compressed under adiabatic conditions, its pressure increases and its temperature rises without the gain or loss of any heat. Conversely, when a gas expands under adiabatic conditions, its pressure and temperature both decrease without the gain or loss of heat. The adiabatic cooling of air as it rises in the atmosphere is the main cause of cloud formation.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.