agar

[ ah-gahr, ag-er ]

/ ˈɑ gɑr, ˈæg ər /

Save This Word!

noun

Also agar-agar. Also called Chinese gelatin, Chinese isinglass, Japanese gelatin, Japanese isinglass. a gelatinlike product of certain seaweeds, used for solidifying certain culture media, as a thickening agent for ice cream and other foods, as a substitute for gelatin, in adhesives, as an emulsifier, etc.

Biology. a culture medium having an agar base.

QUIZ

SPRINT TO THE FINISH WITH THIS OLYMPICS QUIZ!

Compete in our Olympics quiz to see if you can take home the gold medal in Olympics knowledge.

Question 1 of 10

Where was the Olympics first held?

ancient Rome

ancient Greece

ancient Persia

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of agar

First recorded in 1885–90, agar is from the Malay word agaragar seaweed from which a gelatin is rendered, or the gelatin itself

Words nearby agar

aganglionosis, agapanthus, agape, Agapetus I, Agapetus II, agar, agaric, agaricaceous, agaric acid, agaricin, agaricus

Other definitions for agar (2 of 2)

Agar

[ ey-gahr ]

/ ˈeɪ gɑr /

noun Douay Bible.

Hagar.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use agar in a sentence

After finding the mushrooms, he’d grown them out in the agar, and with a scalpel and sterilizer had propagated the resulting mycelia in dozens of glass jars stacked on racks outside the air lock.
Meet the Renaissance Man Obsessed with Mushrooms|Doug Bierend|March 10, 2021|Outside Online
She saw my research skills, my tenacity, and my willingness to walk—or run, if necessary—a mile to the lab first thing on Saturday mornings to pour agar plates so everyone was prepared for the day’s experiments.
“She saw something in me”|Katie McLean|February 24, 2021|MIT Technology Review
It is a mega-leap from the agar and test-tube finding to real patients and their delicate lungs.
Big Tobacco, Not MRSA, Is the Real Problem With E-Cigarettes|Kent Sepkowitz|May 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He should, then, at least have given a small flock to his mistress Agar, when he sent her away in the desert.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10)|Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)

Complete the solution of the various ingredients by bubbling live steam through the flask as in making nutrient agar.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre
Bubble live steam through the mixture for twenty minutes, to dissolve the agar.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre
Rotate the tube between the hands in order to diffuse the citrated blood evenly throughout the agar.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre
If, however, it is to be used as the basis for agar or gelatine media store it in the "Double Strength" condition.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre

British Dictionary definitions for agar

agar

/ (ˈeɪɡə) /

noun

a complex gelatinous carbohydrate obtained from seaweeds, esp those of the genus Gelidium, used as a culture medium for bacteria, a laxative, in food such as ice cream as a thickening agent (E406), etcAlso called: agar-agar

Word Origin for agar

C19: Malay

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 agar

agar

[ ā′gär′, ä′gär′ ]

A gelatinous material derived from marine algae, used as a base for bacterial culture media and as a stabilizer and thickener in food.

A culture medium containing this material.

Scientific definitions for agar

agar

[ ā′gär′, ä′gär′ ]

A gelatinous material obtained from marine algae, especially seaweed, used as a medium for growing bacterial cultures in the laboratory and as a thickener and stabilizer in food products.