sulfate
Americannoun
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
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.
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 baddies that you want to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being high up on the ingredients list, Miss Truman says.
From BBC • Dec. 13, 2025
Growing even modest quantities of mycoprotein requires significant inputs, and the spores must be cultivated in large metal tanks filled with sugar-rich feedstock and added nutrients such as ammonium sulfate.
From Science Daily • Nov. 21, 2025
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
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.
