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compressibility

American  
[kuhm-pres-uh-bil-i-tee] / kəmˌprɛs əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

  • compressibilities
    plural
  1. the quality or state of being compressible.

  2. Physics. the reciprocal of the bulk modulus, equal to the ratio of the fractional change in volume to the stress applied to a body.


compressibility British  
/ kəmˌprɛsɪˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

  1. the ability to be compressed

  2. k. physics the reciprocal of the bulk modulus; the ratio of volume strain to stress at constant temperature

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns


Etymology

Origin of compressibility

First recorded in 1685–95; compressible ( def. ) + -ity


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.

See Examples For:

Some current models to explain water anomalies cannot adequately reproduce the thermodynamic properties of water, such as its compressibility and heat capacity.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2024

"Our goal was to create a metafluid that not only possesses these remarkable attributes but also provides a platform for programmable viscosity, compressibility and optical properties."

From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2024

Water is unlike most other liquids on Earth: it has at least 66 weird properties, including high surface tension, high heat capacity, high melting and boiling points and low compressibility.

From Nature ● Apr. 7, 2020

At low pressures, the correction factor for intermolecular attractions is more significant, and the effect of the volume of the gas molecules on Z would be a small lowering compressibility.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019

His first significant contribution to science concerned the springiness, or compressibility, of air, and involved the most famous experiment of his illustrious career.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

The reason for these different compressibilities is that atoms and molecules are separated by large empty spaces in gases but packed close together in liquids and solids.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

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