stearin
Americannoun
-
Chemistry. any of the three glyceryl esters of stearic acid, especially C 3 H 5 (C 1 8 H 3 5 O2 ) 3 , a soft, white, odorless solid found in many natural fats.
-
the crude commercial form of stearic acid, used chiefly in the manufacture of candles.
noun
-
Also called: tristearin. a colourless crystalline ester of glycerol and stearic acid, present in fats and used in soap and candles; glycerol tristearate; glycerol trioctadecanoate. Formula: (C 17 H 35 COO) 3 C 3 H 5
-
another name for stearic acid, esp a commercial grade containing other fatty acids
-
fat in its solid form
-
A colorless, odorless, tasteless ester of glycerol and stearic acid found in most animal and vegetable fats and used in the manufacture of soaps, candles, metal polishes, and adhesives. Chemical formula: C 57 H 110 O 6 .
-
The solid form of fat.
Etymology
Origin of stearin
1810–20; < French stéarine < Greek stéar fat, grease + French -ine -ine 2; see -in 2
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.
Cotton seeds now contribute to the manufacture of refined oils, stearin, soap, nitroglycerine, roofing paint, writing paper, nitrocellulose, smokeless powder, lacquers, artificial leather, celluloid, rayon, photographic films, sausage casings, toilet ware, furfural, etc., etc.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
Grease a mold or ovenproof dish with paraffin or stearin and bake for 2½ hours.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
![]()
Most of the natural oils and the animal oils and fats consist of ethereal salts of glycerin, with a large number of organic acids, principally stearic, oleic, and palmitic, forming respectively stearin, olein, and palmitin.
From The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary Section M, N, and O by Project Gutenberg
The melting point of stearin appears to undergo changes and suggests the existence of distinct modifications.
From The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by W. H. Simmons
Butter fat consists principally of olein, palmitin, and stearin.
From An Elementary Study of Chemistry by William McPherson
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.