adjective
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Capable of neutralizing an acid. Bases are alkaline.
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Relating to an alkali compound.
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Having a pH greater than 7.
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Having a relatively low concentration of hydrogen ions.
Etymology
Origin of alkaline
Vocabulary lists containing alkaline
Chemistry - High School
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Chemistry - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Despite its vivid blue appearance, the water at the quarry - dubbed the Blue Lagoon - is highly alkaline and potentially harmful, with a pH level comparable to bleach.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
More interesting for Bott than the climate benefit is the way calcium carbonate makes water more alkaline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
“When the Emperor Was Divine” takes place in Utah, in “a city of tar-paper barracks behind a barbed-wire fence on a dusty alkaline plain.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
The site's pH of 12 makes it one of the most alkaline environments ever documented, creating conditions that are exceptionally difficult for life to endure.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2025
When the soil is too alkaline, which can be thought of as being too sweet, you need to add sulfur.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
