alkali
Chemistry.
any of various bases, the hydroxides of the alkali metals and of ammonium, that neutralize acids to form salts and turn red litmus paper blue.
any of various other more or less active bases, as calcium hydroxide.
(not in technical use) an alkali metal.
Obsolete. any of various other compounds, as the carbonates of sodium and potassium.
Agriculture. a soluble mineral salt or a mixture of soluble salts, present in some soils, especially in arid regions, and detrimental to the growing of most crops.
Chemistry. alkaline.
Origin of alkali
1Words Nearby alkali
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use alkali in a sentence
What appears to be ground glass is only the little crystals or small particles of alkali that have not been dissolved.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.He was one of the men to whom alkali is a constant poison, and his lips were always cracked and bleeding.
Mystery Ranch | Arthur ChapmanHe had come away in the sour mood of a thirsty man who finds an alkali spring sparkling deceptively under a rock.
Cabin Fever | B. M. BowerTalpers flushed angrily, and then grinned, until his alkali-cracked lips glistened in the lamplight.
Mystery Ranch | Arthur ChapmanNow, cations other than the alkali ions are liable to interfere with tests designed for alkaline or neutral solutions.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2. | Julius Stieglitz
British Dictionary definitions for alkali
/ (ˈælkəˌlaɪ) /
chem a soluble base or a solution of a base
a soluble mineral salt that occurs in arid soils and some natural waters
Origin of alkali
1Collins 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 alkali
[ ăl′kə-lī′ ]
A hydroxide of an alkali metal. The aqueous solution of alkalis is bitter, slippery, caustic, and characteristically basic in reactions.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for alkali
[ (al-kuh-leye) ]
Notes for alkali
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse