Showing results for lone pair. Search instead for ion+pair.

lone pair

British

noun

chem a pair of valency electrons of opposite spin that are not shared between the atoms in a molecule and are responsible for the formation of coordinate bonds

"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

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.

For example, the nitrogen atom in ammonia is surrounded by three bonding pairs and a lone pair of electrons directed to the four corners of a tetrahedron.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

Phosphorus and nitrogen can form sp3 hybrids to form three bonds and hold one lone pair in PF3 and NF3, respectively.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

SF4 and have one lone pair of electrons on the central atom, and ClF3 has two lone pairs giving it the T-shape shown.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

An sp3 hybrid orbital can also hold a lone pair of electrons.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

It readily combines with a molecule containing an atom with a lone pair of electrons.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023