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latex

American  
[ley-teks] / ˈleɪ tɛks /

noun

plural

latices, latexes

  1. a milky liquid in certain plants, as milkweeds, euphorbias, poppies, or the plants yielding India rubber, that coagulates on exposure to air.

  2. Chemistry. any emulsion in water of finely divided particles of synthetic rubber or plastic.

latex British  
/ ˈleɪtɛks /

noun

  1. a whitish milky fluid containing protein, starch, alkaloids, etc, that is produced by many plants. Latex from the rubber tree is used in the manufacture of rubber

  2. a suspension of synthetic rubber or plastic in water, used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber products, etc

"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
latex Scientific  
/ lā′tĕks′ /

  1. The colorless or milky sap of certain trees and plants, such as the milkweed and the rubber tree, that hardens when exposed to the air. Latex usually contains gum resins, waxes, and oils, and sometimes toxic substances.

  2. A manufactured emulsion of synthetic rubber or plastic droplets in water that resembles the latex of plants. It is used in paints, adhesives, and synthetic rubber products.

Etymology

Origin of latex

1655–65; < New Latin, special use of Latin latex water, juice, liquid

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.