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straight-chain
[ streyt-cheyn ]
/ ˈstreɪtˈtʃeɪn /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun Chemistry.
an open chain of atoms, usually carbon, with no side chains attached to it.
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Also called straight chain .
Compare branched chain.
Origin of straight-chain
First recorded in 1925–30
Words nearby straight-chain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use straight-chain in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for straight-chain
straight chain
noun
- an open chain of atoms in a molecule with no attached side chains
- (as modifier)a straight-chain hydrocarbon
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 straight-chain
straight chain
An arrangement of atoms of the same type that forms an unbranched open chain. Propane is a straight-chain compound with a chain of three carbon atoms.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.