potassium bicarbonate

[ puh-tas-ee-uhm bahy-kahr-buh-nit, -neyt ]

noun

, Chemistry, Pharmacology.

1. a white, crystalline, slightly alkaline, salty-tasting, water-soluble powder, KHCO 3 , produced by the passage of carbon dioxide through an aqueous potassium carbonate solution: used in baking as a leavening agent and in medicine as an antacid.

Word History and Origins

Origin of potassium bicarbonate¹

First recorded in 1870–75