solute
Americannoun
-
solutes
plural
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of solute
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin solūtus, past participle of solvere to loosen, dissolve. See solve
Explanation
Solute is just a few letters short of solution, a substance that is dissolved in liquid. In science classes, a solute might be part of your experiment. Pronounced "SAHL-yoot," the noun solute has close word relatives in dissolve, soluble, and solid — all of which are rooted in the Latin word solvere, meaning "to loosen." A solute changes state when it is dissolved. In sugar water, the solute is the sugar because it changes from solid to liquid. The water is not a solute.
Vocabulary lists containing solute
Chemistry - Introductory
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Chemistry - High School
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The ACT Science Test: Chemistry Review 1
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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.
See Examples For:
Upon solidification, a phase separation into a pure solvent, here ice, and a solute and particles occurs, with the ice templating the solute/particle phase.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024
In some cases, solutions do not form because the energy required to separate solute and solvent species is so much greater than the energy released by solvation.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
A solute is a component of a solution that is typically present at a much lower concentration than the solvent.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
An increase in matter dispersal always results when a solution forms from the uniform distribution of solute molecules throughout a solvent.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Many physical properties are quite independent of the nature of the solute, depending only on its degree of molecular concentration.
From The Mechanism of Life by Stéphane Leduc
A wide variety of solvents, solutes and particles can be used to create the desired structures, shapes and functionalities.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024
Water and solutes, such as glycerol, urea, and boric acid, get transported through human Aqp10 depending on concentration gradients across the membrane.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2023
The endodermis contains a barrier to the movement of solutes and water that is made of lignin, the same material present in wood.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2023
However, for plants to evolve larger forms, the evolution of vascular tissue for the distribution of water and solutes was a prerequisite.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Similar ionisation under electric forces enters, as we now believe, into all the chemical effects progressing in the galvanic cell, and, indeed, generally in ionised solutes.
From The Birth-Time of the World and Other Scientific Essays by John Joly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
