agar

[ ah-gahr, ag-er ]

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.

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

Other definitions for Agar (2 of 2)

Agar

[ ey-gahr ]

nounDouay Bible.

Hagar.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use agar in a sentence

Cultures of the comma bacillus were also made in agar-agar jelly, which is not liquefied by them.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 467, December 13, 1884 | Various
agar-agar, g′ar-g′ar, n. a nutrient jelly prepared from certain seaweeds, and used in the artificial cultivation of bacteria.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) | Various
The culture of such algae may prove of economic importance; gelatine, glue and agar-agar would be valuable by-products.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 1 | Various
The latter had come for the purpose of collecting the gelatinous Fucus, agar-agar.
The Mission to Siam, and Hu the Capital of Cochin China, in the Years 1821-2 | George Finlayson
Certain constipation biscuits, sterilized dry bran, or agar-agar may be eaten with the breakfast cereal.
The Mother and Her Child | William S. Sadler

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), etc: Also called: agar-agar

Origin of 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

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.

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