monomer

[ mon-uh-mer ]

nounChemistry.

a molecule of low molecular weight capable of reacting with identical or different molecules of low molecular weight to form a polymer.

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Origin of monomer

First recorded in 1910–15; mono- + -mer

Other words from monomer

mon·o·mer·ic [mon-uh-mer-ik], /ˌmɒn əˈmɛr ɪk/, adjective

Words Nearby monomer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use monomer in a sentence

Her lab is figuring out how to induce microbes to convert sugar from plants into monomers that can then be chemically converted into polymers to create plastic.
Building a better chemical factory—out of microbes | Leigh Buchanan | August 24, 2021 | MIT Technology Review
Piecing pure monomers back together creates plastic that’s good as new.
New recycling technologies could keep more plastic out of landfills | Maria Temming | April 29, 2021 | Science News For Students
Those monomers can then be separated from dyes and other contaminants.
New recycling technologies could keep more plastic out of landfills | Maria Temming | April 29, 2021 | Science News For Students
The molecules that make up plastics are called polymers, which are made of smaller monomers.
Chemists are reimagining recycling to keep plastics out of landfills | Maria Temming | January 27, 2021 | Science News
Simply dunking the plastic in an acid solution with a pH of 1 or 2 is enough to break the bonds between its monomer building blocks.
Chemists are reimagining recycling to keep plastics out of landfills | Maria Temming | January 27, 2021 | Science News

British Dictionary definitions for monomer

monomer

/ (ˈmɒnəmə) /

noun

chem a compound whose molecules can join together to form a polymer

Derived forms of monomer

monomeric (ˌmɒnəˈmɛrɪk), adjective

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

Scientific definitions for monomer

monomer

[ mŏn′ə-mər ]

A molecule that can combine with others of the same kind to form a polymer. Glucose molecules, for example, are monomers that can combine to form the polymer cellulose. Polymers can also be composed of different kinds of monomers.

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