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isotonic

American  
[ahy-suh-ton-ik] / ˌaɪ səˈtɒn ɪk /

adjective

  1. Physical Chemistry. Also noting or pertaining to solutions characterized by equal osmotic pressure.

  2. Physiology.

    1. noting or pertaining to a solution containing the same salt concentration as mammalian blood.

    2. noting or pertaining to a muscular contraction in which constant tension continues while the length of the muscle decreases, as during mechanical work.

  3. Music. of or characterized by equal tones.


isotonic British  
/ ˌaɪsəʊˈtɒnɪk, ˌaɪsəʊtəʊˈnɪsɪtɪ /

adjective

  1. physiol (of two or more muscles) having equal tension

  2. (of a drink) designed to replace the fluid and salts lost from the body during strenuous exercise

  3. Also: isosmotic.  (of two solutions) having the same osmotic pressure, commonly having physiological osmotic pressure Compare hypertonic hypotonic

  4. music of, relating to, or characterized by the equal intervals of the well-tempered scale

    isotonic tuning

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of isotonic

1820–30; < Greek isóton ( os ) having equal accent or tone ( see iso-, tone) + -ic

Vocabulary lists containing isotonic

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.

See Examples For:

Hydration breaks, ice jackets, cooling towels and isotonic drinks have been a feature of the World Cup so far as hot weather impacts matches.

From BBC Jun. 17, 2026

Hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic are types of sports drinks.

From Textbooks Dec. 21, 2021

Sports drinks can be divided into hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic.

From Textbooks Dec. 21, 2021

Solutions injected into the body must have the same osmotic pressure as blood serum; that is, they should be isotonic with blood serum.

From Textbooks Feb. 14, 2019

If in the saline solution we place a coloured isotonic drop between two coloured hypertonic drops, all the figures and movements of karyokinesis appear successively in their due order.

From The Mechanism of Life by Stéphane Leduc

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