liquids - Definitions from Dictionary.com

2 results for: liquids

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

liq·uid Audio Help (lĭk'wĭd) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. The state of matter in which a substance exhibits a characteristic readiness to flow, little or no tendency to disperse, and relatively high incompressibility.
2. Matter or a specific body of matter in this state.
Linguistics A consonant articulated without friction and capable of being prolonged like a vowel, such as English l and r.

adj.

Of or being a liquid.
Having been liquefied, especially:
1. Melted by heating: liquid wax.
2. Condensed by cooling: liquid oxygen.
Flowing readily; fluid: added milk to make the batter more liquid.
Having a flowing quality without harshness or abrupt breaks: liquid prose; the liquid movements of a Balinese dancer.
Linguistics Articulated without friction and capable of being prolonged like a vowel.
Clear and shining: the liquid brown eyes of a spaniel.
Readily convertible into cash: liquid assets.

[From Middle English, of a liquid, from Old French liquide, from Latin liquidus, from liquēre, to be liquid.]

liq'uid·ly adv., liq'uid·ness n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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liquids

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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

liquid Audio Help (lĭk'wĭd) Pronunciation Key
One of four main states of matter, composed of molecules that can move about in a substance but are bound loosely together by intramolecular forces. Unlike a solid, a liquid has no fixed shape, but instead has a characteristic readiness to flow and therefore takes on the shape of any container. Because pressure transmitted at one point is passed on to other points, a liquid usually has a volume that remains constant or changes only slightly under pressure, unlike a gas.

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