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sodium hydroxide

noun Chemistry.

a white, deliquescent, water-soluble solid, NaOH, usually in the form of lumps, sticks, chips, or pellets, that upon solution in water generates heat: used chiefly in the manufacture of other chemicals, rayon, film, soap, as a laboratory reagent, and in medicine as a caustic.

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Nearby words

  1. sodium ethylate,
  2. sodium fluoride,
  3. sodium fluoroacetate,
  4. sodium hexametaphosphate,
  5. sodium hydrosulfite,
  6. sodium hypochlorite,
  7. sodium hyposulfite,
  8. sodium hyposulphite,
  9. sodium iodide,
  10. sodium lactate

Origin of sodium hydroxide

First recorded in 1880–85
Also called caustic soda, soda.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for sodium hydroxide

sodium hydroxide

noun

a white deliquescent strongly alkaline solid used in the manufacture of rayon, paper, aluminium, soap, and sodium compounds. Formula: NaOHAlso called: caustic soda See also lye
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
Medicine definitions for sodium hydroxide

sodium hydroxide

n.

A strongly alkaline compound used externally.caustic soda
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for sodium hydroxide

sodium hydroxide

A white, corrosive, solid compound that absorbs water and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and forms lye when in solution. Sodium hydroxide is toxic and strongly alkaline and is used to make chemicals and soaps and to refine petroleum. Chemical formula: NaOH.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.