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acids

 - 8 dictionary results

ac⋅id

  [as-id]
Use acids in a Sentence
–noun
1. Chemistry. a compound usually having a sour taste and capable of neutralizing alkalis and reddening blue litmus paper, containing hydrogen that can be replaced by a metal or an electropositive group to form a salt, or containing an atom that can accept a pair of electrons from a base. Acids are proton donors that yield hydronium ions in water solution, or electron-pair acceptors that combine with electron-pair donors or bases.
2. a substance with a sour taste.
3. something, as a remark or piece of writing, that is sharp, sour, or ill-natured: His criticism was pure acid.
4. Slang. LSD (def. 2).
–adjective
5. Chemistry.
a. belonging or pertaining to acids or the anhydrides of acids.
b. having only a part of the hydrogen of an acid replaced by a metal or its equivalent: an acid phosphate.
c. having a pH value of less than 7. Compare alkaline (def. 4).
6. sharp or biting to the taste; tasting like vinegar; sour: acid fruits.
7. sharp, biting, or ill-natured in mood, manner, etc.: an acid remark; an acid wit.
8. Geology. containing much silica.
9. Metallurgy. noting, pertaining to, or made by a process in which the lining of the furnace, or the slag that is present, functions as an acid in high-temperature reactions in taking electrons from oxide ions: usually a siliceous material, as sand or ganister. Compare basic (def. 3).
—Idiom
10. put on the acid, Australian Slang. to importune someone, as for money, sexual favors, or confidential information.
Origin:
1620–30; < L acidus sour, akin to ācer sharp, acētum vinegar, acescent, acicula

Related forms:
ac⋅id⋅ly, adverb
ac⋅id⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
7. acerbic, stinging, vitriolic, tart. Acid, astringent are terms used figuratively of wit or humor. Acid suggests a sharp, biting, or ill-natured quality: an acid joke about an opponent. Astringent connotes severity but usually also a bracing quality, as of something applied with curative intent: astringent criticism.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ac·id   (ās'ĭd)   
n.  

  1. Chemistry

    1. Any of a class of substances whose aqueous solutions are characterized by a sour taste, the ability to turn blue litmus red, and the ability to react with bases and certain metals to form salts.

    2. A substance that yields hydrogen ions when dissolved in water.

    3. A substance that can act as a proton donor.

    4. A substance that can accept a pair of electrons to form a covalent bond.

  2. A substance having a sour taste.

  3. The quality of being sarcastic, bitter, or scornful: wrote with acid about her first marriage.

  4. Slang See LSD1.

adj.  

  1. Chemistry

    1. Of, relating to, or containing an acid.

    2. Having a high concentration of acid.

    3. Having the characteristics of an acid.

    4. Having a pH of less than 7.

    5. Having a relatively high concentration of hydrogen ions.

    1. Having a pH of less than 7.

    2. Having a relatively high concentration of hydrogen ions.

  3. Geology Containing a large proportion of silica: acid rocks.

  4. Having a sour taste. See Synonyms at sour.

  5. Biting, sarcastic, or scornful: an acid wit; an acid tone of voice.


[From Latin acidus, sour, from acēre, to be sour; see ak- in Indo-European roots.]
ac'id·ly adv., ac'id·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

acid

A sour-tasting material (usually in a solution) that dissolves metals and other materials. Technically, a material that produces positive ions in solution. An acid is the opposite of a base and has a pH of 0 to 7. A given amount of an acid added to the same amount of a base neutralizes the base, producing water and a salt. Common vinegar, for example, is a weak solution of acetic acid.

Note: Figuratively, acid applies to anything sour or biting; for example, an “acid wit” is sharp and unpleasant.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
acid

  1. n.
    lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). (Drugs.) : Freddy got hold of some bad acid and freaked out.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

acid 
1626, from Fr. acide, from L. acidus "sour," adj. of state from acere "to be sour," from PIE base *ak- "sharp, pointed" (see acrid). Applied to intense colors from 1916. Slang meaning "LSD-25" first recorded 1966 (see LSD); acid rock (type played by or listen to by people using LSD) is also from 1966; acid house dance music style is 1988, probably from acid in the hallucinogenic sense + house, "dance club DJ music style," probably from the Warehouse, a Chicago nightclub where the style originated. Acid test is Amer.Eng., 1892, from the frontier days, when gold was distinguished from similar metals by application of nitric acid. Acid rain is first recorded 1859 in ref. to England.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2acid
Function: noun
1 : a sour substance; specifically : any of various typically water-soluble and sour compounds that insolution are capable of reacting with a base to form a salt, that redden litmus, that have a pH less than 7, and that are hydrogen-containing molecules or ions able to give up a proton to a base or aresubstances able to accept an unshared pair of electrons from a base
2 : LSD
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

acid ac·id (ās'ĭd)
n.

  1. Any of a large class of sour-tasting substances whose aqueous solutions are capable of turning blue litmus indicators red, of reacting with and dissolving certain metals to form salts, and of reacting with bases or alkalis to form salts.

  2. A substance that ionizes in solution to give the positive ion of the solvent.

  3. A substance capable of yielding hydrogen ions.

  4. A proton donor.

  5. An electron acceptor.

  6. A molecule or ion that can combine with another by forming a covalent bond with two electrons of the other.

  7. A substance having a sour taste.

  8. See LSD.

adj.

  1. Of or relating to an acid.

  2. Having a high concentration of acid.

  3. Having a sour taste.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
ACIDS
American College of Integrated Delivery Systems
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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