surface tension

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noun Physics.

the elasticlike force existing in the surface of a body, especially a liquid, tending to minimize the area of the surface, caused by asymmetries in the intermolecular forces between surface molecules.

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Origin of surface tension

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby surface tension

surface plate, surface-printing, surface-ripened, surface road, surface structure, surface tension, surface-tension theory of narcosis, surface-to-air, surface-to-surface, surface-to-underwater, surface wave

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use surface tension in a sentence

The insect may use a small air bubble to pin its belly to the underside of the water’s surface, but just how it steps without breaking the water’s surface tension remains a mystery for now.
Here are 7 incredible things we learned this year that animals can do|Erika Engelhaupt|December 20, 2021|Science News
Instead of the nylon or polyester typically found in hard shells, the Odin Infinity is made with polypropylene, a polymer that has a low surface tension and so sheds precipitation without any treatment.
The Best Jackets of 2022|jversteegh|October 26, 2021|Outside Online
While surface tension of the water, fluid mechanics, and surfboard buoyancy might factor into the equation, the Coandӑ effect is the key to noseriding.
Use physics to pull off gravity-defying surfing moves|Noah Lederman|October 5, 2021|Popular-Science
This will add more surface tension and help your bread rise evenly.
Remy From ‘Ratatouille’ Taught Me to Never Settle for Boring Bread|Dayna Evans|September 30, 2021|Eater

How the insects were able to sense the change in the water’s surface tension is unknown.
Fire ants build little syphons out of sand to feed without drowning|Aayushi Pratap|October 20, 2020|Science News
The more resources and education society becomes equipped with, the fewer stories like yours will surface.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, cops are under stress and tension (though their jobs are far less dangerous than normally supposed).
We Need Our Police to Be Better Than This|Nick Gillespie|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The most exciting and thrillingly unique artist to surface in 2014.
The 10 Best Albums of 2014: Taylor Swift, Sia, Run the Jewels, and More|Marlow Stern|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Set a heatproof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water, making sure that the bowl does not touch the surface of the water.
Carla Hall’s Christmas Day Treat: Rum Balls|Carla Hall|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You can go as deep as you like, or float about on the surface.
D’Angelo’s ‘Black Messiah’ Was Worth Waiting 15 Years For|James Joiner|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
First a shower of shells dropping all along the lower ridges and out over the surface of the Bay.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
The controlling leaders being out of gear the machine did not run smoothly: there was nothing but friction and tension.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
Some of those halls that Mr. Meadow Mouse mentioned ran right out beneath the surface of the garden.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
It depends upon the fact that bile acids lower surface tension.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
She did shout for joy, as with a sweeping stroke or two she lifted her body to the surface of the water.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin

British Dictionary definitions for surface tension

surface tension

noun

a property of liquids caused by intermolecular forces near the surface leading to the apparent presence of a surface film and to capillarity, etc

a measure of this property expressed as the force acting normal to one side of a line of unit length on the surface: measured in newtons per metreSymbol: T, γ, σ

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

Medical definitions for surface tension

surface tension

A property of liquids arising from unbalanced molecular cohesive forces at or near the surface, as a result of which the surface tends to contract and exhibit properties resembling those of a stretched elastic membrane.

A measure of this property.

Scientific definitions for surface tension

surface tension

[ sûr′fəs ]

A property of liquids such that their surfaces behave like a thin, elastic film. Surface tension is an effect of intermolecular attraction, in which molecules at or near the surface undergo a net attraction to the rest of the fluid, while molecules not near the surface are attracted to other molecules equally in all directions and undergo no net attraction. Because of surface tension, the surface of a liquid can support light objects (such as water beetles on the surface of a pond). Surface tension is responsible for the spherical shape of drops of liquid; spheres minimize the surface area of the drop and thus minimize surface tension. See also capillary action meniscus.

Cultural definitions for surface tension

surface tension

The force exerted along the surface of a fluid that causes it to “bead up” and form into drops. Water has high surface tension and beads up easily; alcohol has low surface tension and does not often show droplets.