percolation
Americannoun
-
the act or state of percolating or of being percolated.
-
Pharmacology. the extraction of the soluble principles of a crude drug by the passage of a suitable liquid through it.
-
Geology. the slow movement of water through the pores in soil or permeable rock.
Etymology
Origin of percolation
First recorded in 1605–15, percolation is from the Latin word percōlātiōn- (stem of percōlātiō ). See percolate, -ion
Explanation
Percolation is the process of a liquid slowly passing through a filter. It's how coffee is usually made. Percolation comes from the Latin word percolare, which means "to strain through." Percolation happens when liquid is strained through a filter, like when someone makes coffee. Drinking coffee can make you feel perky! Perky comes from the word percolate, too, describing something that bubbles over. Percolation (a noun) is what happens when anything percolates. It’s usually coffee, but chemists use percolation for all kinds of experiments.
Vocabulary lists containing percolation
The Water Cycle - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Earth Science - Middle School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Water Cycle - Middle School and High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Ramanujan's motivation might have been very mathematical, but without his knowledge, he was also studying black holes, turbulence, percolation, all sorts of things."
From Science Daily • Dec. 16, 2025
This too validated the hypothesis of a directed percolation transition.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2024
Puff jams tend to "melt" at the critical transition point from laminar to turbulent flow, giving way to the special statistical behavior of the directed percolation transition.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2024
Somewhere in between is a critical value, called the percolation threshold, at which the fluid begins to flow all the way across the network.
From Scientific American • Sep. 25, 2023
In 1819, Laurens produced the original of the percolation device in which the boiling water is raised by a tube and sprayed over the ground coffee.
From All About Coffee by Ukers, William H. (William Harrison)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
