isomer
Americannoun
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Chemistry. a compound displaying isomerism with one or more other compounds.
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Also called nuclear isomer. Physics. a nuclide that exhibits isomerism with one or more other nuclides.
noun
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chem a compound that exhibits isomerism with one or more other compounds
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physics a nuclide that exhibits isomerism with one or more other nuclides
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Chemistry Any of two or more substances that have the same molecular formula but differ in their connectivity or spatial arrangement of atoms, or in their topology in macromolecules.
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Physics Any of two or more nuclei with the same mass number and atomic number that have different radioactive properties and can exist in any of several energy states for a measurable period of time.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of isomer
First recorded in 1865–70; back formation from isomeric
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Vocabulary lists containing isomer
Chemistry - High School
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Organic Chemistry
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Nuclear Processes
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Optical isomers are very important in organic and biochemistry because living systems often incorporate one specific optical isomer and not the other.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
The complex does not have any geometric isomers, but the mirror image is nonsuperimposable, so it has an optical isomer.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
For the trans isomer, each ligand is directly across from an identical ligand, so the bond dipoles cancel out, and the molecule is nonpolar.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Only one isomer will fit into opioid receptors in cells.
From Nature ● May 16, 2017
The highest, the mammal, adheres to this diet for a long time: it has its mother's milk, rich in casein, another isomer of albumen.
From More Hunting Wasps by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander
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.
