oxidize
to take away hydrogen, as by the action of oxygen; add oxygen or any nonmetal.
to remove electrons from (an atom or molecule), thereby increasing the valence.: Compare reduce (def. 12).
to become oxidized.
(especially of white wine) to lose freshness after prolonged exposure to air and often to darken in color.
Origin of oxidize
1- Also especially British, ox·i·dise .
Other words from oxidize
- ox·i·diz·a·ble, ox·i·da·ble [ok-si-duh-buhl], /ˈɒk sɪ də bəl/, adjective
- ox·i·diz·a·bil·i·ty, noun
- an·ti·ox·i·diz·ing, adjective
- half-ox·i·dized, adjective
- non·ox·i·diz·a·ble, adjective
- non·ox·i·diz·ing, adjective
- o·ver·ox·i·dize, verb o·ver·ox·i·dized, o·ver·ox·i·diz·ing.
- re·ox·i·dize, verb, re·ox·i·dized, re·ox·i·diz·ing.
- un·der·ox·i·dize, verb (used with object), un·der·ox·i·dized, un·der·ox·i·diz·ing.
- un·ox·i·diz·a·ble, adjective
- un·ox·i·dized, adjective
Words Nearby oxidize
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use oxidize in a sentence
It’s full of metallic iron, rather than the oxidized type of iron that plants can use.
The first plants ever grown in moon dirt have sprouted | Maria Temming | June 16, 2022 | Science News For StudentsThe researchers found that zapping the material with electricity to oxidize the surface will trigger it to change its surface tension and thus, the shape of the liquid metal.
Scientists can manipulate this liquid metal, hands-free | Shi En Kim | February 9, 2022 | Popular-ScienceBeta cells have low levels of antioxidants and are susceptible to attack by metabolic and dietary oxidized free radicals and AGEs.
Sugar Detox? Cutting Carbs? A Doctor Explains Why You Should Keep Fruit On The Menu | LGBTQ-Editor | January 22, 2022 | No Straight NewsAs the groundwater seeped into the lake, the iron became oxidized and precipitated out as goethite particles.
See stunning fossils of insects, fish and plants from an ancient Australian forest | Carolyn Gramling | January 7, 2022 | Science NewsThe methane produced in the soil is being transported from the roots all the way up rather than being oxidized in the soil.
Trees in the wetlands emit more methane than researchers thought | Nikita Amir | December 9, 2021 | Popular-Science
Of course, this causes the nail clippers to oxidize and the water turns rusty, but it boils.
Tales of a Jailhouse Gourmet: How I learned to Cook in Prison | Daniel Genis | June 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey oxidize organic materials, changing them to compounds that can be absorbed by plants and used in building protoplasm.
A Civic Biology | George William HunterMy purpose in slackening my heat as soon as the pig-iron was melted was to oxidize the phosphorus and sulphur ahead of the carbon.
The Iron Puddler | James J. DavisThe purpose now is to oxidize the carbon, too, without reducing the phosphorus and sulphur and causing them to return to the iron.
The Iron Puddler | James J. DavisJust as alcohol vaporizes at a lower heat than water, so sulphur and phosphorus oxidize at a lower heat than carbon.
The Iron Puddler | James J. DavisChromic and nitric acids oxidize it to oxalic acid and carbon dioxide.
British Dictionary definitions for oxidize
oxidise
/ (ˈɒksɪˌdaɪz) /
to undergo or cause to undergo a chemical reaction with oxygen, as in formation of an oxide
to form or cause to form a layer of metal oxide, as in rusting
to lose or cause to lose hydrogen atoms
to undergo or cause to undergo a decrease in the number of electrons: Compare reduce (def. 12c)
Derived forms of oxidize
- oxidization or oxidisation, noun
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 oxidize
[ ŏk′sĭ-dīz′ ]
To undergo or cause to undergo oxidation.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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