electrolysis
Americannoun
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Physical Chemistry. the passage of an electric current through an electrolyte with subsequent migration of positively and negatively charged ions to the negative and positive electrodes.
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the destruction of hair roots, tumors, etc., by an electric current.
noun
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the conduction of electricity by a solution or melt, esp the use of this process to induce chemical changes
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the destruction of living tissue, such as hair roots, by an electric current, usually for cosmetic reasons
Etymology
Origin of electrolysis
Vocabulary lists containing electrolysis
Chemistry - High School
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Electrical Engineering
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Engineering - High School
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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.
A 2025 Nature Reviews Materials review described direct seawater electrolysis as promising but still held back by corrosion, side reactions, metal precipitates, and limited lifetime.
From Science Daily • May 10, 2026
The scientists believe that the nodules give off enough electric charge to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen, a process known as electrolysis.
From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026
Demand is sluggish in part because green hydrogen – hydrogen produced via electrolysis, using renewable electricity – remains pricey compared to the fossil fuels used to make other types of hydrogen.
From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025
The hydrogen burned at Scattergood is supposed to be green, meaning it is produced by splitting water molecules through a process called electrolysis.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2025
The electrolysis separated the hydrogen and oxygen from each other.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
