organic chemistry

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noun

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

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Origin of organic chemistry

First recorded in 1870–75

Words nearby organic chemistry

organelles, organ grinder, organic, organic acid, organically, organic chemistry, organic compounds, organic disease, organicism, organic light-emitting diode, organic molecule

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

How to use organic chemistry in a sentence

Human beings develop relationships through organic chemistry—through trust, risk investment.
Cold War Kids’ Nathan Willett: My Evangelical Struggle|Nathan Willett|September 22, 2021|The Daily Beast
The chemical structures of these molecules will be a bit of mystery if you haven’t taken an organic chemistry class before.
Chemists think they’ve found a way to make opioids less addicting|Purbita Saha|July 17, 2021|Popular-Science
He received a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder four years later and was hired the same year to work in 3M’s research laboratory.
Spencer Silver, inventor who made the Post-it Note stick, dies at 80|Emily Langer|May 13, 2021|Washington Post
As observed by Reece Goiffon, pairs of cards connected via reflection were analogous to enantiomers in organic chemistry.
Can You Cut The Perfect Pancake?|Zach Wissner-Gross (riddlercolumn@gmail.com)|April 23, 2021|FiveThirtyEight

All of chemistry—and even the very possibility of organic chemistry—depends on these numbers.
A Wrinkle in Nature Could Lead to Alien Life - Issue 99: Universality|Caleb Scharf|April 21, 2021|Nautilus
A few days afterwards he found her studying a scientific book, "Outlines of Organic Chemistry."
Katharine Frensham|Beatrice Harraden
I went up to my London rooms, where I spent seven weeks working out a few experiments in organic chemistry.
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 28, April 1893|Various
Avogadros law rounded out and completed the atomic theory, and to its application much of the advance in organic chemistry is due.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, April 1900|Various
But the colossal progress of inorganic and organic chemistry is not less important.
The Riddle of the Universe at the close of the nineteenth century|Ernst Haeckel
Organic chemistry has become simply the chemistry of carbon-compounds.
Famous Men and Great Events of the Nineteenth Century|Charles Morris

British Dictionary definitions for organic chemistry

organic chemistry

noun

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 plasticsCompare inorganic chemistry

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 organic chemistry

organic chemistry

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

Cultural definitions for organic chemistry

organic chemistry

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