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Showing results for borax.

borax

1 American  
[bawr-aks, -uhks, bohr-] / ˈbɔr æks, -əks, ˈboʊr- /

noun

plural

boraxes, boraces

  1. a white, water-soluble powder or crystals, hydrated sodium borate, Na 2 B 4 O 7 ⋅10H 2 O, occurring naturally or obtained from naturally occurring borates; tincal: used as a flux, cleansing agent, in the manufacture of glass, porcelain, and enamel, and in tanning.

borax 2 American  
[bawr-aks, -uhks, bohr-] / ˈbɔr æks, -əks, ˈboʊr- /

noun

  1. cheap, showy, poorly made merchandise, especially cheaply built furniture of an undistinguished or heterogeneous style.

borax British  
/ ˈbɔːræks /

noun

  1. Also called: tincal.  a soluble readily fusible white mineral consisting of impure hydrated disodium tetraborate in monoclinic crystalline form, occurring in alkaline soils and salt deposits. Formula: Na 2 B 4 O 7 .10H 2 O

  2. pure disodium tetraborate

"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
borax Scientific  
/ bôr′ăks′ /

  1. A white, crystalline powder and mineral used as an antiseptic, as a cleansing agent, and in fusing metals and making heat-resistant glass. The mineral is an ore of boron and also occurs in yellowish, blue, or green varieties. Chemical formula: Na 2 B 4 O 7 ·10H 2 O.

Etymology

Origin of borax1

1350–1400; < Medieval Latin ≪ dialectal Arabic būraq < Middle Persian būrag; replacing Middle English boras < Middle French < Medieval Latin borax

Origin of borax2

An Americanism dating back to 1940–45; of uncertain origin

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.

The father of a friend of mine, who owned a franchise for a company that sold aluminum awnings, qualified as a borax man.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

The fire, one of two that day, occurred just after midnight April 4 behind the Borax Museum and destroyed a wooden wagon used to transport borax out of Death Valley in the late 1800s.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2024

You can create a natural cleaning solution from baking soda, lemon juice and borax.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 20, 2024

The LD50 for borax in rats is about 5g per kilogram of body weight.

From Salon • Jul. 26, 2023

I’ve got glue, Mom’s baking soda, a four-pound box of borax, and several vials of food coloring.

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

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.