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.

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Origin of adsorb

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

OTHER WORDS FROM adsorb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH adsorb

absorb adsorb

Words nearby adsorb

adscititious, adscript, adscription, adsl, adson's test, adsorb, adsorbate, adsorbent, adsorption, adsorption theory of narcosis, adst. feb.
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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.