supernatant
Americanadjective
adjective
-
floating on the surface or over something
-
chem (of a liquid) lying above a sediment or settled precipitate
Other Word Forms
- supernatation noun
Etymology
Origin of supernatant
1655–65; < Latin supernatant- (stem of supernatāns ), present participle of supernatāre to swim or float above. See super-, natant
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.
The phage-free supernatant served as a comparative control.
From Science Daily • Oct. 26, 2023
In the tube that contained the phage labeled with 32P, the radioactivity was detected in the pellet that contained the heavier bacterial cells, and no radioactivity was detected in the supernatant.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
The heavier bacterial cells settled down and formed a pellet, whereas the lighter phage particles stayed in the supernatant.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
After removal of the supernatant, the pellet was washed using 100 µl 70% ethanol and dried in vacuum.
From Nature • May 8, 2018
When speaking of the Dead sea or as it is styled in Scripture, the Salt sea, his words are Demque si Jordanis auctus imbribus pisces illuc influens rapuerit statim mortuntur, et pinguibus aquis supernatant.
From The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning by Binning, Hugh
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.
