polycyclic

[ pol-ee-sahy-klik, -sik-lik ]

/ ˌpɒl iˈsaɪ klɪk, -ˈsɪk lɪk /

Save This Word!

adjective Chemistry.

pertaining to an organic compound containing several atomic rings, usually fused.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of polycyclic

First recorded in 1865–70; poly- + cyclic

Words nearby polycyclic

polycotyledon, Polycrates, polycrystal, polycrystalline, polyculture, polycyclic, polycystic, polycystic ovary syndrome, polycythaemia, polydactyl, polydactyly

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

How to use polycyclic in a sentence

Not surprisingly, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can be found in coal, oil and even food.
What does space smell like?|Lizzie Schiffman|September 28, 2021|Popular-Science
The by-products of all this rampant combustion are smelly compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
What does space smell like?|Lizzie Schiffman|September 28, 2021|Popular-Science
Of particular concern was a smaller class of particle pollution known as PAHs, or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
“A Complete Failure of the State”: Authorities Didn’t Heed Researchers’ Calls to Study Health Effects of Burning Sugar Cane|by Lulu Ramadan, The Palm Beach Post|August 19, 2021|ProPublica
That must be that polycyclic screen that Conway reported on.
Triplanetary|Edward Elmer Smith

"That must be that sixth-phase polycyclic screen that Conway reported on," Cleveland frowned in thought.
Triplanetary|Edward Elmer Smith
Pierced Roger's polycyclic screen; exposed the bare metal of Roger's walls!
Triplanetary|Edward Elmer Smith

British Dictionary definitions for polycyclic

polycyclic

/ (ˌpɒlɪˈsaɪklɪk) /

adjective

(of a molecule or compound) containing or having molecules that contain two or more closed rings of atoms

biology having two or more rings or whorlspolycyclic shells; a polycyclic stele

noun

a polycyclic compoundanthracene is a polycyclic

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 polycyclic

polycyclic

[ pŏl′ĭ-sī′klĭk, -sĭk′lĭk ]

Having two or more atomic rings in a molecule. Steroids are polycyclic compounds.