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osmosis
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8 dictionary results for: osmosis
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
os·mo·sis       [oz-moh-sis, os-] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.Physical Chemistry, Cell Biology.
a.the tendency of a fluid, usually water, to pass through a semipermeable membrane into a solution where the solvent concentration is higher, thus equalizing the concentrations of materials on either side of the membrane.
b.the diffusion of fluids through membranes or porous partitions. Compare endosmosis, exosmosis.
2.a subtle or gradual absorption or mingling: He never studies but seems to learn by osmosis.
[Origin: 1865–70; Latinized form of now obs. osmose osmosis, extracted from endosmose endosmosis, exosmose exosmosis < F, equiv. to end- end-, ex- ex-2 + Gk ōsm(ós) push, thrust + F -ose -osis]

—Related forms
os·mot·ic       [oz-mot-ik, os-] Pronunciation Key, adjective
os·mot·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
os·mo·sis       (ŏz-mō'sĭs, ŏs-)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. os·mo·ses (-sēz)
    1. Diffusion of fluid through a semipermeable membrane from a solution with a low solute concentration to a solution with a higher solute concentration until there is an equal concentration of fluid on both sides of the membrane.
    2. The tendency of fluids to diffuse in such a manner.
  2. A gradual, often unconscious process of assimilation or absorption: learned French by osmosis while residing in Paris for 15 years.


[From obsolete osmose, from earlier endosmose, from French : Greek endo-, endo- + Greek ōsmos, thrust, push (from ōthein, to push).]

os·mot'ic (-mŏt'ĭk) adj., os·mot'i·cal·ly adv.
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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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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
osmosis 
1867, originally endosmose (1830s) "inward passage of a fluid through a porous septum," from Fr. endo- "inward" + Gk. osmos "a thrusting, a pushing," from othein "to push, to thrust," from PIE *wedhe- "to push, strike" (cf. Skt. vadhati "pushes, strikes, destroys," Avestan vadaya- "to repulse"). Fig. sense is from 1900.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
osmosis

noun
(biology, chemistry) diffusion of molecules through a semipermeable membrane from a place of higher concentration to a place of lower concentration until the concentration on both sides is equal 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
osmosis       (ŏz-mō'sĭs)  Pronunciation Key 


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The movement of a solvent through a membrane separating two solutions of different concentrations. The solvent from the side of weaker concentration usually moves to the side of the stronger concentration, diluting it, until the concentrations of the solutions are equal on both sides of the membrane. The pressure exerted by the molecules of the solvent on the membrane they pass through is called osmotic pressure. Osmotic pressure is the energy driving osmosis and is important for living organisms because it allows water and nutrients dissolved in water to pass through cell membranes.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
osmosis [(ahz-moh-sis, ahs-moh-sis)]

The seeping of a fluid through a seemingly solid barrier, such as a cell wall or a rubber sheet. When the concentration of the fluid is the same on both sides of the barrier, osmosis stops.

Note: Informally, “osmosis” is the process by which information or concepts come to a person without conscious effort: “Living in Paris, he learned French slang by osmosis.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

osmosis os·mo·sis (ŏz-mō'sĭs, ŏs-)
n. pl. os·mo·ses (-sēz)

  1. Diffusion of fluid through a semipermeable membrane until there is an equal concentration of fluid on both sides of the membrane.
  2. The tendency of fluids to diffuse in such a manner.
os·mot'ic (-mŏt'ĭk) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Osmosis

Os*mo"sis\, n. [NL.] Osmose.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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