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saline

[ sey-leen, -lahyn ]
/ ˈseɪ lin, -laɪn /
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See synonyms for: saline / salines on Thesaurus.com

adjective
of, containing, or resembling common table salt; salty or saltlike: a saline solution.
of or relating to a chemical salt, especially of sodium, potassium, magnesium, etc., as used as a cathartic.
of or relating to a method of abortion involving injection of hypertonic saline solution into the amniotic cavity during the second trimester.
noun
a sterile solution of sodium chloride used to dilute medications or for intravenous therapy.
salty water; a salty solution.
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Origin of saline

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English: “composed of salt,” from Latin salīnus “salty,” equivalent to sal “salt” + -īnus adjective suffix; see sal, -ine1

OTHER WORDS FROM saline

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

How to use saline in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for saline

saline
/ (ˈseɪlaɪn) /

adjective
of, concerned with, consisting of, or containing common salta saline taste
med of or relating to a saline
of, concerned with, consisting of, or containing any chemical salt, esp a metallic salt resembling sodium chloride
noun
med an isotonic solution of sodium chloride in distilled water

Derived forms of saline

salinity (səˈlɪnɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for saline

C15: from Late Latin salīnus, from Latin sal salt
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 saline

saline
[ sālēn′ ]

Of or containing salt.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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