depolymerize

[dee-puh-lim-uh-rahyz, dee-pol-uh-muh-]

verb (used with object), de·po·lym·er·ized, de·po·lym·er·iz·ing. Chemistry.

to break down (a polymer) into monomers.

Also especially British, de·po·lym·er·ise.

Origin of depolymerize

First recorded in 1890–95; de- + polymerize

Related formsde·po·lym·er·i·za·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for depolymerize

depolymerize

depolymerise

verb

to break (a polymer) into constituent monomers or (of a polymer) to decompose in this way

Derived Formsdepolymerization or depolymerisation, noun

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