adsorb

[ ad-sawrb, -zawrb ]

/ ædˈsɔrb, -ˈzɔrb /

verb (used with object) Physical Chemistry.

to gather (a gas, liquid, or dissolved substance) on a surface in a condensed layer: Charcoal will adsorb gases.

Words nearby adsorb

adscititious, adscript, adscription, adsl, adson's test, adsorb, adsorbate, adsorbent, adsorption, adsorption theory of narcosis, adst. feb.

Origin of adsorb

First recorded in 1880–85; ad- + (ab)sorb

OTHER WORDS FROM adsorb

ad·sorb·a·ble, adjectivead·sorb·a·bil·i·ty, nounad·sorb·ent, adjective, nounad·sorp·tion

[ad-sawrp-shuh n, -zawrp-] /ædˈsɔrp ʃən, -ˈzɔrp-/, noun

ad·sorp·tive, adjectivead·sorp·tive·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH adsorb

absorb adsorb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for adsorb

adsorb

/ (ədˈsɔːb, -ˈzɔːb) /

verb

to undergo or cause to undergo a process in which a substance, usually a gas, accumulates on the surface of a solid forming a thin film, often only one molecule thickto adsorb hydrogen on nickel; oxygen adsorbs on tungsten Compare absorb (def. 8)

Derived forms of adsorb

adsorbable, adjectiveadsorbability, nounadsorption, noun

Word Origin for adsorb

C19: ad- + -sorb as in absorb

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

Medical definitions for adsorb

adsorb

[ ăd-zôrb′ ]

v.

To take up by adsorption.