organic chemistry

American  

noun

1. the branch of chemistry, originally limited to substances found only in living organisms, dealing with the compounds of carbon.

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organic chemistry British  

noun

1. the branch of chemistry concerned with the compounds of carbon: originally confined to compounds produced by living organisms but now extended to include man-made substances based on carbon, such as plastics Compare inorganic chemistry

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organic chemistry Scientific  

1. The branch of chemistry that deals with carbon and organic compounds, especially hydrocarbons.

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organic chemistry Cultural  

1. The branch of chemistry dealing with organic molecules (see also organic molecule).

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Etymology

Origin of organic chemistry

First recorded in 1870–75

Compare meaning

How does organic-chemistry compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• organic chemistry vs. inorganic chemistry

Example Sentences

“From a cost and scalability perspective, using organic chemistry is a lot more efficient than what we have to do creating autoinjectors, with peptides, etc.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

Kyei studied chemistry at Oxford University and was also awarded a junior research fellowship by Princeton University in organic chemistry.

From BBC • Oct. 23, 2025

Garg’s 19-person lab works on developing new organic chemistry reactions that could have pharmaceutical applications.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2025

Panpsychists believe that all forms of matter, however small, contain elements of consciousness, and that life as many define it is simply made up of extremely complex forms of consciousness created via organic chemistry.

From Salon • Dec. 16, 2024

On that rather Earth-like world, with abundant carbon and water, life, if it exists, should be based on organic chemistry.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan