Dictionary.com

critical temperature

[ krit-i-kuhl tem-per-uh-cher, tem-pruh‐ ]
/ ˈkrɪt ɪ kəl ˈtɛm pər ə tʃər, ˈtɛm prə‐ /

noun Physics.

the temperature of a pure element or compound at a critical point: Above the critical temperature, no liquid can form, no matter how great the pressure of the gas is.

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Compare critical constant.

Origin of critical temperature

First recorded in 1865–70

Words nearby critical temperature

critical point, critical pressure, critical ratio, critical region, critical state, critical temperature, critical thinking, critical value, critical volume, criticaster, criticism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for critical temperature

critical temperature

noun

the temperature of a substance in its critical state. A gas can only be liquefied by pressure alone at temperatures below its critical 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

Medical definitions for critical temperature

critical temperature

n.

The temperature above which a gas cannot be liquefied, regardless of the pressure applied.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for critical temperature

critical temperature

The temperature of a substance at its critical point.
The temperature at which a material becomes a superconductor.
The temperature at which a property of a material, such as its magnetism, changes.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.