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amphiphile

American  
[am-fuh-fahyl] / ˈæm fəˌfaɪl /

noun

Biochemistry.

  1. any of many organic compounds, as a surfactant, detergent, bile salt, or phospholipid, composed of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions.

Other Word Forms

  • amphiphilic adjective

Etymology

Origin of amphiphile

First recorded in 1970–75; amphi- + -phile

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.