stereochemistry

American  

[ster-ee-oh-kem-uh-stree, steer-] / ˌstɛr i oʊˈkɛm ə stri, ˌstɪər- /

noun

1. the branch of chemistry that deals with the determination of the relative positions in space of the atoms or groups of atoms in a compound and with the effects of these positions on the properties of the compound.

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stereochemistry British  

/ ˌstɪər-, ˌstɛrɪəʊˈkɛmɪstrɪ /

noun

1. the study of the spatial arrangement of atoms in molecules and the effect of spatial arrangement on chemical properties

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stereochemistry Scientific  

/ stĕr′ē-ō-kĕm′ĭ-strē /

1. The branch of chemistry that deals with the spatial arrangements of atoms in molecules and with the chemical and physical effects of these arrangements.

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Other Word Forms

• stereochemic adjective
• stereochemical adjective
• stereochemically adverb

Etymology

Origin of stereochemistry

First recorded in 1885–90; stereo- + chemistry

Example Sentences

From there, the researchers build the structure in stages, adding chemical functional groups, including alcohols, ketones, and amides, while carefully controlling stereochemistry at each step.

From Science Daily • Dec. 22, 2025

Adding the carbon-sulfur bonds late in the process failed to deliver the correct stereochemistry, forcing the team to redesign the entire order of steps.

From Science Daily • Dec. 22, 2025

Those groups must be positioned with the correct orientation, or stereochemistry, relative to the rest of the molecule.

From Science Daily • Dec. 22, 2025

This discovery became the foundation of a subdiscipline of chemistry known as stereochemistry, which is the study of the spatial arrangement of atoms within molecules.

From Salon • Oct. 19, 2022

In about an hour I had arranged the atoms in positions which satisfied both the X-ray data and the laws of stereochemistry.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson