amphiphile

American

[am-fuh-fahyl] / ˈæm fəˌfaɪl /

noun

Biochemistry.

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

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