stearic acid

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noun Chemistry.

a colorless, waxlike, sparingly water-soluble, odorless solid, C18H36O2, the most common fatty acid, occurring as the glyceride in tallow and other animal fats and in some animal oils: used chiefly in the manufacture of soaps, stearates, candles, cosmetics, and in medicine in suppositories and pill coatings.

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Also called octadecanoic acid.

Origin of stearic acid

First recorded in 1825–35

Words nearby stearic acid

Ste. Anne de Beaupré, steapsin, stear-, stearate, stearic, stearic acid, stearin, stearo-, stearoptene, steatite, steato-

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

How to use stearic acid in a sentence

The pins for the Shawinigan line were boiled in stearic acid.
Electric Transmission of Water Power|Alton D. Adams
Stearic acid, prepared by the above process, contains combined water, from which it cannot be freed.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
The preceding numbers will serve to regulate the manufacture of stearic acid for the purpose of making candles.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
This operation having been accomplished, the piston table is lowered, and the machine is ready to receive the stearic acid.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 611, September 17, 1887|Various

Concrete primed with an 8% solution of stearic acid and rosin dissolved in benzine.
Paint Technology and Tests|Henry A. Gardner

British Dictionary definitions for stearic acid

stearic acid

noun

a colourless odourless insoluble waxy carboxylic acid used for making candles and suppositories; octadecanoic acid. Formula: CH 3 (CH 2) 16 COOHSee also stearin (def. 2)

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 stearic acid

stearic acid

[ stē-ăr′ĭk, stîr′ĭk ]

A colorless, odorless, waxlike fatty acid occurring in animal and vegetable fats and used in making soaps, candles, lubricants, and other products. Chemical formula: C18H36O2.