chiral
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of chiral
1894; chir- < Greek cheír hand + -al 1; coined by Lord Kelvin
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.
Living organisms typically produce almost exclusively one mirror image of a chiral molecule.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
It can also be applied to other chiral materials such as tellurium, selenium, and hybrid organic/inorganic perovskites.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026
To test their concept, the researchers used α-quartz, a crystal with a naturally chiral structure.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026
In chiral materials, these waves also follow a circular motion, forming chiral phonons.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026
For the first time, researchers demonstrated that chiral phonons can directly transfer orbital angular momentum to electrons in a non-magnetic material.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026
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.
