isomers

[ (eye-suh-muhrz) ]

Save This Word!

In chemistry, molecules that contain exactly the same numbers of the same kinds of atoms, but in which the atoms have different structural arrangements.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby isomers

isomerase, isomeric, isomerism, isomerize, isomerous, isomers, isometric, isometric exercise, isometrics, isometropia, isometry

How to use isomers in a sentence

They're called d- and l-isomers—d for dextro, l for levo; right and left, you see.
A Feast of Demons|William Morrison
Here we have assumed the substituent groups to be alike; when they are unlike, a greater number of isomers is possible.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1|Various
In the case of tetra-substituted compounds, thirty isomers are possible when all the groups are different.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1|Various
The next members are the isomers anthracene and phenanthrene, C14H10, formed from three benzene nuclei.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1|Various

A factor of considerable importance in determining boiling-points of isomers is the symmetry of the molecule.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1|Various