chemical reaction

[ kem-i-kuhl ree-ak-shuhn ]
See synonyms for chemical reaction on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Chemistry. reaction (def. 7).

Origin of chemical reaction

1
First recorded in 1780–90

Words Nearby chemical reaction

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use chemical reaction in a sentence

  • For every 50 degrees Centigrade, you change the chemical reaction rate by a factor of two.

  • Gastric juice is slightly acid in its chemical reaction, containing about .2 per cent free hydrochloric acid.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
  • The iron oxide is put in it to make it more basic for the chemical reaction that is to take place.

    The Iron Puddler | James J. Davis
  • And then, as though slowly dissolving through some chemical reaction, the old man began to fade.

    The Mating of the Moons | Kenneth O'Hara
  • If the soil contains acid, a chemical reaction occurs between it and zinc sulfid, and hydrogen sulfid gas is liberated.

  • Man cannot love the insect or the chemical reaction which he studies, without sacrificing a part of himself.

    The Montessori Method | Maria Montessori

British Dictionary definitions for chemical reaction

chemical reaction

noun
  1. a process that involves changes in the structure and energy content of atoms, molecules, or ions but not their nuclei: Compare nuclear reaction

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

Cultural definitions for chemical reaction

chemical reaction

A process in which atoms of the same or different elements rearrange themselves to form a new substance. While they do so, they either absorb heat or give it off.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.