silica gel

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noun Chemistry.

a highly adsorbent gelatinous form of silica, used chiefly as a dehumidifying and dehydrating agent.

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Origin of silica gel

First recorded in 1915–20

Words nearby silica gel

silesia, Silesian, silex, silhouette, silica, silica gel, silica glass, silicate, silicates, silicatosis, siliceous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use silica gel in a sentence

Although silica gel can be expensive, you can always reuse it.
How to preserve flowers in 4 easy ways|empire|August 20, 2021|Popular-Science
For a speedy version of the air-drying method, cover your blossoms in a moisture-absorbing desiccant like silica gel, which is made up of silicon dioxide, a key component of sand.
How to preserve flowers in 4 easy ways|empire|August 20, 2021|Popular-Science
Hot and cold packThe silica gel inside the Arctic Flex reusable therapy bag is pliable even straight out of the freezer, so you can wrap it around any sore area to reduce swelling.
4 mobility tools to help soothe and stretch your sore muscles|Stan Horaczek|February 5, 2021|Popular-Science
And lo, Snowballs—underpants which can hold a flexible gel pack that you store in the freezer—was born.
Men, Ice Your Balls To Make Babies—and Other Male Fertility Fixes|Tom Sykes|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Supplies of soap, bleach, or alcohol-based hand gel also were depleted.
$10,000 a Month for Ebola Fighters|Abby Haglage|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This isn't the typical high heels and hair gel style pool party rave Miami is famous for.
Not Your Typical Miami Pool Party|Starbucks|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Police found bulletproof vests, ammunition, and 14 explosive devices made of the water-gel Tovex.
U.S. Visas Helped Fuel the Juárez Drug Wars|Jason McGahan|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, celebrities were appropriating Native American culture long before Harry Styles bought his first bottle of hair gel.
Pharrell, Harry Styles, and Native American Appropriation|Amy Zimmerman|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Silica is an invariable constituent of the ash, but in most plants occurs but in small quantity.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
Quartz consists of pure silica, and when in large masses is one of the most indestructible rocks.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
Silica and the alkalies occur generally, though not invariably, in all three.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
In general, sand consists of finely broken crystals of silica or quartz.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
Many natural waters present us with silica in a dissolved state, although it is not soluble in pure water.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge|Various

British Dictionary definitions for silica gel

silica gel

noun

an amorphous form of silica capable of absorbing large quantities of water: used in drying gases and oils, as a carrier for catalysts and an anticaking agent for cosmetics

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