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polymerization

American  
[puh-lim-er-uh-zey-shuhn, pol-uh-mer-] / pəˌlɪm ər əˈzeɪ ʃən, ˌpɒl ə mər- /

noun

Chemistry.
  1. the act or process of forming a polymer or polymeric compound.

  2. the combination of many like or unlike molecules to form a more complex product of higher molecular weight, with elimination of water, alcohol, or the like condensation polymerization, or without such elimination addition polymerization.

  3. the conversion of one compound into another by such a process.


polymerization British  
/ ˌpɒlɪməraɪ-, pəˌlɪməraɪˈzeɪʃən /

noun

  1. the act or process of forming a polymer or copolymer, esp a chemical reaction in which a polymer is formed

"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

Etymology

Origin of polymerization

First recorded in 1875–80; polymerize + -ation

Vocabulary lists containing polymerization

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.

Researchers at Campus Norrköping, collaborating with colleagues in Lund and New Jersey, have developed a technique that allows polymerization to occur using only visible light.

From Science Daily • Dec. 15, 2025

The Campus Norrköping researchers, together with colleagues in Lund and New Jersey, have now succeeded in creating a method where polymerization can happen using visible light only.

From Science Daily • Dec. 15, 2025

Any portion of the solution that does not undergo polymerization can be washed away, leaving the finished electrodes behind.

From Science Daily • Dec. 15, 2025

By introducing steric hindrance from these pendant groups, the team successfully suppressed the stacking of two-dimensional polymer intermediates during the polymerization of triazacoronene monomers.

From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2024

From this formic aldehyde, or formol, we may obtain all the various carbohydrates by simple polymerization, i.e. by the association of several molecules, with or without elimination of water.

From The Mechanism of Life by Leduc, Stéphane