supercool

[ soo-per-kool ]

/ ˌsu pərˈkul /

verb (used with object)

to cool (a liquid) below its freezing point without producing solidification or crystallization; undercool.

verb (used without object)

to become supercooled.

adjective

very cool in temperature, especially of the maximum coolness possible: used as a setting on air conditioners.

Slang. very cool; very sophisticated, up-to-date, unemotional, etc.

QUIZZES

How Hip Is Your Lingo? Take Our Slang Quiz!

If you aren’t already skilled in slang, then this quiz can get you up to speed in no time!

Question 1 of 11

OK Boomer can be perceived as pejorative, but it is mostly considered to be _____

a slang word for astronauts that originated in the 1950s.

a comment toward the Baby Boomer generation that is humorous or ironic in usage.

an obsolete slang term about people who speak loudly.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of supercool

First recorded in 1905–10; super- + cool

Words nearby supercool

supercolumniation, supercomputer, superconductivity, superconductor, supercontinent, supercool, supercow, supercrat, supercritical, supercurrent, superdelegate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for supercooling

For any given degree of supercooling of a substance, the velocity of crystallization is constant.
The Phase Rule and Its Applications|Alexander Findlay

British Dictionary definitions for supercooling

supercool

/ (ˌsuːpəˈkuːl) /

verb

chem to cool or be cooled without freezing or crystallization to a temperature below that at which freezing or crystallization should occur. Supercooled liquids are not in equilibrium

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 supercooling

supercool

[ sōō′pər-kōōl′ ]

To cool a substance below a phase-transition temperature without the transition occurring. For example, water can be cooled well below the freezing point without freezing (as often happens in the upper atmosphere); the introduction of an impurity or surface can then trigger freezing. Supercooling is an example of hysteresis. Compare superheat.