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osmosis - 8 dictionary results
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os⋅mo⋅sis

  [oz-moh-sis, os-]
Use osmosis in a Sentence
–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-] , adjective
os⋅mot⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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os·mo·sis   (ŏz-mō'sĭs, ŏs-)   
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Osmosis

Os*mo"sis\, n. [NL.] Osmose.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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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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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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Main Entry: os·mo·sis
Pronunciation: äz-'mO-s&s, äs-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural os·mo·ses /-"sEz/
: movement of a solvent through a semipermeable membrane (as of a living cell) into a solution of higher solute concentration that tends to equalize the concentrations ofsolute on the two sides of the membrane
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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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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. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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