oxalate

American  

[ok-suh-leyt] / ˈɒk səˌleɪt /

noun

Chemistry.

1. any salt or ester of oxalic acid, occurring in plants, especially spinach, rhubarb, and certain other vegetables and nuts, and capable of forming an insoluble salt with calcium and interfering with its absorption by the body.

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oxalate British  

/ ˈɒksəˌleɪt /

noun

1. a salt or ester of oxalic acid

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oxalate Scientific  

/ ŏk′sə-lāt′ /

1. A salt or ester of oxalic acid.

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Other Word Forms

• superoxalate noun

Etymology

Origin of oxalate

First recorded in 1785–85; oxal(ic) + -ate ²

Example Sentences

Some ingredients in the drink, including oxalate and high phosphate levels, can promote the formation of kidney stones.

From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2026

Chocolate is a source of oxalate which, along with calcium, is one of the main components of kidney stones.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2024

Chewing a portion of its stem can render someone temporarily but painfully speechless, as the calcium oxalate crystals in it can cause throat and mouth swelling.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 2, 2023

Novome Biotechnologies, for example, has endowed a seaweed-digesting bacterium with the ability to degrade dietary oxalate, a compound that can lead to kidney stones.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 1, 2022

The bark was formerly used in medicine; it contains much calcium oxalate, and yields on incineration 23% of ash.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6 "Groups, Theory of" to "Gwyniad" by Various