Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

steric hindrance

American  

noun

Chemistry.

  1. the prevention or retardation of inter- or intramolecular interactions as a result of the spatial structure of a molecule.

Etymology

Origin of steric hindrance

First recorded in 1900–05

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.

By introducing steric hindrance from these pendant groups, the team successfully suppressed the stacking of two-dimensional polymer intermediates during the polymerization of triazacoronene monomers.

From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2024

In this study, the researchers investigated structures that inhibit the migration of fuel molecules through electro-osmotic drag and steric hindrance.

From Science Daily • Sep. 22, 2023

The successful sieving of the fuel molecules is achieved via selective proton transfers due to steric hindrance on holey graphene sheets that have chemical functionalization and act as proton-exchange membranes.

From Science Daily • Sep. 22, 2023

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.