chemical

American  

[kem-i-kuhl] / ˈkɛm ɪ kəl /

noun

1. a substance produced by or used in a chemical process.

2. Slang. chemicals, narcotic or mind-altering drugs or substances.

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adjective

1. of, used in, produced by, or concerned with chemistry or chemicals.

   a chemical formula; chemical agents.

2. used in chemical warfare.

   chemical weapons.

chemical British  

/ ˈkɛmɪkəl /

noun

1. any substance used in or resulting from a reaction involving changes to atoms or molecules, especially one derived artificially for practical use

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adjective

1. of or used in chemistry

   chemical balance

2. of, made from, or using chemicals

   chemical fertilizer

chemical Scientific  

/ kĕm′ĭ-kəl /

1. Relating to or produced by means of chemistry.

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1. A substance having a specific molecular composition, obtained by or used in a chemical process.

Other Word Forms

• chemically adverb
• nonchemical adjective
• prechemical adjective
• pseudochemical adjective
• semichemical adjective
• semichemically adverb
• superchemical adjective
• superchemically adverb
• unchemical adjective
• unchemically adverb

Etymology

Origin of chemical

1570–80; chemic + -al ¹; replacing chimical chemic

Example Sentences

Surgeons inject a light-activated dye attached to a chemical that binds to targeted cancer cells.

From The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, its chemicals and products segment is expected to report an adjusted earnings loss.

From The Wall Street Journal

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena wanted to understand how these chemical defenses move through the forest food web.

From Science Daily

Dow spins off as a separate company focused on making chemicals, materials and plastics.

From The Wall Street Journal

The oil major also said that industry margins are projected to hurt earnings for chemical products by $200 million to $400 million.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• synthetic