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diffract

American  
[dih-frakt] / dɪˈfrækt /

verb (used with object)

  1. to break up or bend by diffraction.

diffract British  
/ dɪˈfrækt /

verb

  1. to undergo or cause to undergo diffraction

    to diffract light

    the light diffracts at a slit
"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

  • diffractive adjective
  • diffractively adverb
  • diffractiveness noun
  • undiffracted adjective

Etymology

Origin of diffract

First recorded in 1795–1805; back formation from diffraction

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.