evaporation

American  

[ih-vap-uh-rey-shuhn] / ɪˌvæp əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

evaporations plural

1. the act or process of evaporating.

2. the state of being evaporated.

3. Archaic. matter or the quantity of matter evaporated or passed off in vapor.

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evaporation Scientific  

/ ĭ-văp′ə-rā′shən /

1. The change of a liquid into a vapor at a temperature below the boiling point. Evaporation takes place at the surface of a liquid, where molecules with the highest kinetic energy are able to escape. When this happens, the average kinetic energy of the liquid is lowered, and its temperature decreases.

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evaporation Cultural  

1. The changing of a liquid into a gas, often under the influence of heat (as in the boiling of water). (See vaporization.)

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Usage

What does evaporation mean? Evaporation is the process of changing from a liquid or solid state into vapor (like fog, mist, or steam). Evaporation is a noun form of the verb evaporate. Both terms are typically used in the context of water turning into water vapor. Water evaporates when it changes into steam through boiling, but in scientific terms, evaporation typically refers to the change of a liquid into a vapor at a temperature below the boiling point, such as the evaporation of water from the surface of the ocean. In this way, evaporation is an important part of the water cycle. The verb evaporate can also be used in a figurative way meaning to disappear, and evaporation can be used in this figurative way as well. Example: The evaporation of the dew from the grass each morning happens more quickly in the sunny parts of the yard.

Discover More

The evaporation of water from the oceans is a major component in the hydrologic cycle.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonevaporation
  noun
• preevaporation
  noun
• evaporative
  adjective
• nonevaporative
  adjective
• unevaporative
  adjective
• evaporatively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• evaporations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of evaporation

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English evaporacioun, from Latin ēvapōrātiōn- (stem of ēvapōrātiō ); see evaporate, -ion

Compare meaning

How does evaporation compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• transpiration vs. evaporation

Explanation

Evaporation takes place when liquid turns into gas. Ever noticed how water disappears from a glass if you leave it sitting on your counter? That's not thirsty gnomes living in your kitchen: it’s evaporation. Evaporation comes from the Latin evaporare, which means “disperse in vapor or steam.” Depending on the humidity level of the air around it, any liquid will release some of its molecules into the atmosphere around it. That’s evaporation. With time, the liquid can fully evaporate. That's why evaporation can apply to anything that disappears, like the evaporation of your money that leaves you with nothing but an empty wallet.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

evaporation evaporations

This type of lithium removal is different from traditional hardrock mining or evaporation ponds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

As warm, salty surface water travels north through the Atlantic, evaporation makes it saltier.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Many interesting facts are dispensed in passing: During the summer in Texas, Mr. Smil informs us, an 800-square-foot swimming pool will lose about 185 gallons of water a day to evaporation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Land warms faster than the ocean as water can absorb more heat and cool through evaporation.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Once or twice, when the normal process of evaporation is deemed too slow, I am assigned to dry a scrubbed floor by putting rags under my feet and skating around on it.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

When it does, it will lead to one of the greatest evaporations of wealth in human history.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 4, 2022

In orbital flights, the astronauts burn liquid oxygen as fuel and breathe its evaporations.

From Time Magazine Archive

When Funk first studied this substance he conducted all his evaporations in vacuo from fear that higher temperatures would prove destructive.

From The Vitamine Manual by Eddy, Walter H.

Great are its gusts When it comes from the south; Great are its evaporations When it strikes on coasts.

From The Mabinogion Vol. 3 by Edwards, Owen Morgan, Sir

The quantity required by the sick is enormous, to compensate the products of respiration, and all the deleterious evaporations of the locality where they are placed, and all other effluvia of diverse natures.

From Martyria or Andersonville Prison by Hamlin, Augustus C.

Related Words

• dispersal
• melting