flocculate

[flok-yuh-leyt]

verb (used with object), floc·cu·lat·ed, floc·cu·lat·ing.

to form into flocculent masses.

verb (used without object), floc·cu·lat·ed, floc·cu·lat·ing.

to form flocculent masses, as a cloud or a chemical precipitate; form aggregated or compound masses of particles.

Origin of flocculate

First recorded in 1820–30; floccul(us) + -ate¹

Related formsfloc·cu·la·ble

[flok-yuh-luh-buh l] /ˈflɒk yə lə bəl/, adjectivefloc·cu·la·tion, nounfloc·cu·la·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for flocculate

flocculate

verb

to form or be formed into an aggregated flocculent mass

Derived Formsflocculation, 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

Word Origin and History for flocculate

1877, from flocculus (1799, from Modern Latin diminutive of Latin floccus "flock of wool") + -ate. Related: Flocculated; flocculating.