depolymerize

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

/ ˌdi pəˈlɪm əˌraɪz, diˈpɒl ə mə- /

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

to break down (a polymer) into monomers.

Nearby words

depolarizer, depolarizing block, depoliticize, depollute, depolymerase, depolymerize, depone, deponent, depopulate, deport, deportation

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

Origin of depolymerize

First recorded in 1890–95; de- + polymerize

Related forms

de·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

/ (diːˈpɒlɪməˌraɪz) /

verb

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

Derived Forms

depolymerization 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