tribasic

[ trahy-bey-sik ]

/ traɪˈbeɪ sɪk /

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adjective Chemistry.

(of an acid) having three atoms of hydrogen replaceable by basic atoms or groups.

containing three atoms or groups, each having a valence of one, as tribasic sodium phosphate, Na3PO4.

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Origin of tribasic

First recorded in 1830–40; tri- + basic

OTHER WORDS FROM tribasic

tri·ba·sic·i·ty

[trahy-bey-sis-i-tee], /ˌtraɪ beɪˈsɪs ɪ ti/, noun

Words nearby tribasic

tribade, tribadism, tribal, tribalism, tri-band, tribasic, tribe, tribelet, tribesman, tribespeople, tribeswoman

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tribasic in a sentence

Being a tribasic acid, it forms acid as well as normal salts.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry|William McPherson
Contrary to what we might expect, this phosphate is less insoluble than the ordinary tribasic or bone phosphate.
Manures and the principles of manuring|Charles Morton Aikman
Morphine itself is a tribasic meconate, and narcotin, of course, another opium derivative.
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation|Austin O'Malley
Tribasic sodium phosphate alone without the addition of the carbonate will also give good results.
The Mechanism of Life|Stphane Leduc

This salt, which is tribasic, is also formed when1058 the preceding crystallised salts are put into hot water.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley

British Dictionary definitions for tribasic

tribasic

/ (traɪˈbeɪsɪk) /

adjective

(of an acid) containing three replaceable hydrogen atoms in the molecule

(of a molecule) containing three monovalent basic atoms or groups in the molecule

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