sulfate
Americannoun
-
sulfates
plural
verb (used with object)
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to combine, treat, or impregnate with sulfuric acid, a sulfate, or sulfates.
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to convert into a sulfate.
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Electricity. to form a deposit of lead-sulfate compound on (the lead electrodes of a storage battery).
verb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sulfate
From the New Latin word sulphātum, dating back to 1780–90. See sulfur, -ate 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.
See Examples For:
The ban sent mining firms scrambling to build plants to process lithium sulfate, a step along the value chain towards battery‑grade materials.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Sulfur is abundant on Mars and commonly combines with other elements to create sulfate minerals.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 10, 2026
Scientists found sulfate minerals concentrated in a small low area that likely formed when pools of sulfate-rich water gradually evaporated.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 10, 2026
It will reportedly be the first factory in Africa to refine lithium concentrate into lithium sulfate -- a powdered form that is one step closer to the product used in batteries.
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
The treatment is bed rest, which he desperately needs anyway, injections of zinc sulfate, and quinine tablets.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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As the water disappeared, hydrated ferrous sulfates were left behind.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 10, 2026
The sulfates observed at Aram Chaos and Juventae, including ferric hydroxysulfate, probably formed more recently than the surrounding terrain.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 10, 2026
For nearly two decades, researchers have been puzzled by layered iron sulfates on Mars that show unusual spectral signals.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 10, 2026
Breached rootless cones identified in the current study show similar occurrences of polyhydrated sulfates, further suggesting the blistered volcanic blanket may be hiding a vast sheet of glacier ice underneath it.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024
This was due to the fact that earlier studies took account only of the sulfur which, on analysis, appeared as sulfates in the ash.
From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
And even if your diploma is written in Latin it is likely to be made of sulfated cellulose.
From Creative Chemistry Descriptive of Recent Achievements in the Chemical Industries by Edwin E. Slosson
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.