steric

American  

[ster-ik, steer-] / ˈstɛr ɪk, ˈstɪər- /

Sometimes sterical

adjective

Chemistry.

1. of or relating to the spatial relationships of atoms in a molecule.

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steric British  

/ ˈstɪər-, ˈstɛrɪk /

adjective

1. chem of, concerned with, or caused by the spatial arrangement of atoms in a molecule

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Other Word Forms

• sterically adverb

Etymology

Origin of steric

First recorded in 1895–1900; ster(eo)- + -ic

Example Sentences

In a paper published this week in Science, researchers show they are able to bypass the need for steric control and directing groups to induce cobalt-catalyzed borylation that is meta-selective.

From Science Daily • Dec. 7, 2023

The allosteric effector alters the steric structure of the enzyme, usually affecting the configuration of the active site.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Evidence suggests that accumulation of ice on the Antarctic continent has been offsetting the steric effect for at least several centuries.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2018

The carbon-ring-opening reaction pathway, while increasing the steric availability of the H atom, might be a slow step.

From Nature • May 24, 2016

Chemistry has its covalent bonds and steric effects, geology has its weathering and tectonic shifts, neurology has its memory potentiation and plasticity and sociology has its conflict theory.

From Scientific American • Jul. 23, 2012