molar

[moh-ler]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR molar ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also called molar tooth. a tooth having a broad biting surface adapted for grinding, being one of twelve in humans, with three on each side of the upper and lower jaws.

adjective

adapted for grinding, as teeth.

pertaining to such teeth.

Origin of molar

1535–45; < Latin molāris grinder, short for (dēns) molāris grinding (tooth), equivalent to mol(a) millstone + -āris -ar¹

molar

[moh-ler]

adjective

Physics. pertaining to a body of matter as a whole, as contrasted with molecular and atomic.

Origin of molar

1860–65; < Latin mōl(ēs) a mass + -ar¹

molar

[moh-ler]

adjective Chemistry.

pertaining to a solution containing one mole of solute per liter of solution.

noting or pertaining to gram-molecular weight.

Origin of molar

First recorded in 1860–65; mole⁴ + -ar¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for molar

ivory, snag, tush, tusk, premolar, fang, cuspid, bicuspid, incisor, eyetooth, dicer, mincer, axe, point, canine, tine, dent, grinder, serration, denticle

Examples from the Web for molar

Historical Examples of molar

A molar, a bicuspid, a canine, and an incisor were laid in succession on the table.
Oh, You Tex!
William Macleod Raine
Antolycus means his molar—his grinding tooth is set on edge.
Notes and Queries, Number 176, March 12, 1853
Various
The degree of ionization of 0.5 molar FeSO4 is taken as 22%.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2.
Julius Stieglitz
The occurrence is extremely unusual in the other molar teeth of modern men.
Prehistoric Man
W. L. H. Duckworth
But the mandible is wanting, and the molar teeth of the upper set are absent.
Prehistoric Man
W. L. H. Duckworth

British Dictionary definitions for molar

molar

noun

any of the 12 broad-faced grinding teeth in man

a corresponding tooth in other mammals

adjective

of, relating to, or designating any of these teeth

used for or capable of grinding

Word Origin for molar

C16: from Latin molāris for grinding, from mola millstone

molar

adjective

(of a physical quantity) per unit amount of substancemolar volume

(not recommended in technical usage) (of a solution) containing one mole of solute per litre of solution

Word Origin for molar

C19: from Latin mōlēs a mass

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

Word Origin and History for molar

"grinding tooth," mid-14c., from Latin molaris dens "grinding tooth," from mola "millstone," from PIE root *mel- "to rub, grind" (see mill (n.1)). As an adjective in this sense from 1620s. In Old English they were cweornteð "quern-teeth."

adj.

in chemistry, "pertaining to one mole," 1902, from mole (4) + -ar.

molar in Science