hydroxide

American  

[hahy-drok-sahyd, -sid] / haɪˈdrɒk saɪd, -sɪd /

noun

1. a chemical compound containing the hydroxyl group.

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hydroxide British  

/ haɪˈdrɒksaɪd /

noun

1. a base or alkali containing the ion OH ^–

2. any compound containing an -OH group

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hydroxide Scientific  

/ hī-drŏk′sīd′ /

1. A chemical compound containing one or more hydroxyl radicals (OH). Inorganic hydroxides include hydroxides of metals, some of which, like sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and calcium hydroxide, are strong bases that are important industrial alkalis. Some metal hydroxides, such as those of zinc and lead, are amphoteric (they act like both acids and bases). Organic hydroxides include the alcohols.

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Etymology

Origin of hydroxide

First recorded in 1820–30; hydr- ² + oxide

Example Sentences

When exposed to air, the potassium hydroxide inside the beads reacts with CO2, producing hydrogen carbonate, a salt of carbonic acid.

From Science Daily • Jun. 11, 2026

Albemarle also said it would be idling the remaining operating train at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant in Western Australia.

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

Once complete, it will have production capacity of 24,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide monohydrate, which is enough to produce around 500,000 electric-vehicle batteries a year, it said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025

Current supplied to the electrode in the water chamber splits water molecules, producing hydrogen gas and negatively charged hydroxide ions that attract positively charged lithium ions in the brine, drawing them through the membrane.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 27, 2024

Lithium hydroxide was used to absorb the carbon dioxide in our exhaled breath.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins