Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
electrolyte - 7 dictionary results

e⋅lec⋅tro⋅lyte

[i-lek-truh-lahyt]
–noun
1. Physical Chemistry.
a. Also called electrolytic conductor. a conducting medium in which the flow of current is accompanied by the movement of matter in the form of ions.
b. any substance that dissociates into ions when dissolved in a suitable medium or melted and thus forms a conductor of electricity.
2. Physiology. any of certain inorganic compounds, mainly sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, and bicarbonate, that dissociate in biological fluids into ions capable of conducting electrical currents and constituting a major force in controlling fluid balance within the body.

Origin:
1825–35; electro- + -lyte
e·lec·tro·lyte   (ĭ-lěk'trə-līt')   
n.  
  1. A chemical compound that ionizes when dissolved or molten to produce an electrically conductive medium.
  2. Physiology Any of various ions, such as sodium, potassium, or chloride, required by cells to regulate the electric charge and flow of water molecules across the cell membrane.

Electrolyte

E*lec"tro*lyte\, n. [Electro- + Gr. ? a dissoluble: cf. F. ['e]lectrolyte.] (Physics & Chem.) A compound decomposable, or subjected to decomposition, by an electric current.

electrolyte [(i-lek-truh-leyet)]

A substance that can serve as a conductor for an electric current when it is dissolved in a solution. Electrolytes are found in the blood and tissue fluids of the body.


Main Entry: elec·tro·lyte
Pronunciation: i-'lek-tr&-"lIt
Function: noun
1 : a nonmetallic electric conductor in which current iscarried by the movement of ions
2 a : a substance (as an acid, base, or salt) that when dissolved in a suitable solvent (as water) or when fused becomes an ionic conductor b : any of the ions (as of sodium, potassium, calcium, or bicarbonate) that in a biological fluid regulate or affect most metabolic processes (as the flow of nutrients into and wasteproducts out of cells) —used especially in biology and biochemistry

electrolyte e·lec·tro·lyte (ĭ-lěk'trə-līt')
n.

  1. A chemical compound that ionizes when dissolved or molten to produce an electrically conductive medium.
  2. Any of various ions, such as sodium or chloride, required by cells to regulate the electric charge and flow of water molecules across the cell membrane.

electrolyte   (ĭ-lěk'trə-līt')  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A melted or dissolved compound that has broken apart into ions (anions and cations). Applying an electric field across an electrolyte causes the anions and cations to move in opposite directions, thereby conducting electrical current while gradually separating the ions. See also electrodialysis, electrolysis.
  2. Any of these ions found in body fluids. Electrolytes are needed by cells to regulate the flow of water molecules across cell membranes.

Search another word or see electrolyte on Thesaurus | Reference