Definition of 'acid'

Word Frequency

acid (æsɪd )

Word forms: plural acids

1. variable noun

An acid is a chemical substance, usually a liquid, which contains hydrogen and can react with other substances to form salts. Some acids burn or dissolve other substances that they come into contact with.

...citric acid.

Acids in the stomach destroy the virus.

2. adjective

An acid substance contains acid.

These shrubs must have an acid, lime-free soil.

acidity (æsɪdɪti ) uncountable noun

...the acidity of rainwater.

Synonyms: sharpness, bitterness, harshness, pungency More Synonyms of acid

Synonyms: sourness, bitterness, sharpness, pungency More Synonyms of acid

3. graded adjective

An acid fruit or drink has a sour or sharp taste.

These wines may taste rather hard and somewhat acid.

Synonyms: sour, sharp, tart, pungent More Synonyms of acid

acidity uncountable noun

...a finely balanced wine with ripe acidity and soft fruit flavours.

Synonyms: sharpness, bitterness, harshness, pungency More Synonyms of acid

Synonyms: sourness, bitterness, sharpness, pungency More Synonyms of acid

4. graded adjective

An acid remark, or acid humour, is very unkind or critical.

This comedy of contemporary manners is told with compassion and acid humour.

Synonyms: sharp, cutting, biting, severe More Synonyms of acid

acidly graded adverb

'You don't know how to be a mother and you never did,' she said acidly.

Synonyms: sharply, cuttingly, bitterly, harshly More Synonyms of acid

5. uncountable noun

The drug LSD is sometimes referred to as acid.

[informal]

Word Frequency

acid (ˈæsɪd )

noun

any substance that dissociates in water to yield a sour corrosive solution containing hydrogen ions, having a pH of less than 7, and turning litmus red

Derived forms

acidly (ˈacidly)

adverb

acidness (ˈacidness)

noun

acidy (ˈacidy)

adjective

Word origin of 'acid'

C17: (first used by Francis Bacon): from French acide or Latin acidus, from acēre to be sour or sharp

Word Frequency

acid in American English (ˈæsɪd ; asˈid)

adjective

sharp and biting to the taste; sour; tart

sharp or sarcastic in temperament or speech

that is, or has the properties of, an acid

having too heavy a concentration of acid

noun

a sour substance

6. Slang

LSD

7. Chemistry

any compound that can react with a base to form a salt, the hydrogen of the acid being replaced by a positive ion; in modern theory, any substance that produces a positive ion and accepts electrons from a base to form covalent bonds: in water solution an acid tastes sour, turns blue litmus paper red, and, in the dissociation theory, produces free hydrogen ions

Derived forms

acidly (ˈacidly)

adverb

acidness (ˈacidness)

noun

Word origin of 'acid'

L acidus, sour < IE base *a57457-, sharp, pointed > ear2

Example sentences containing 'acid'

Many have suffered acid or fire burns.

Times, Sunday Times (2010)

When acid from the stomach leaks up into the oesophagus it can lead to heartburn.

The Sun (2016)

Women are better at releasing fatty acids into their blood to be used as fuel.

Times, Sunday Times (2016)

This is already done when a free form amino acid capsule is taken.

Chaitow, Leon The Beat Fatigue Workbook - how to identify the causes (1988)

Do not boil too long with an acid food or it will not set.

Smith, Drew Food Watch (1994)

The soils vary from acid to basic and carry a wide range of plants.

Perring, Franklyn A Guide to Britain's Conservation Heritage (1991)

The formula softens skin without being greasy and it is rich in essential fatty acids and vitamins.

The Sun (2015)

The muscles can get quite tight and it flushes out the lactic acid.

Times, Sunday Times (2009)

The process of substituting one amino acid for another in a protein is not an instantaneous one.

Wills, Christopher The Runaway Brain: the Evolution of Human Uniqueness (1993)

This was a better fatty acid content than many other products tested.

Times, Sunday Times (2007)

Another criticism is that the fruit sugar and acid in an apple are bad news for teeth.

Times, Sunday Times (2011)

This cooled the planet and caused acid rain.

The Sun (2009)

They tickle acid house classics in a folk style.

The Sun (2011)

She was blinded and disfigured by acid thrown at her by a man she refused to marry.

Times, Sunday Times (2013)

Like somebody put acid in my drink.

Times, Sunday Times (2014)

Guilt burns like acid in my veins.

Bachmann, Susan (editor) & Barth, Melinda Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric and Handbook (1995)

We all have acid in our stomachs to help digest our food.

The Sun (2009)

Heat is released from fatty acids by a gradual process of molecular degradation.

Erdmann, Robert & Jones, Meirion Fats, Nutrition and Health (1991)

But sometimes it results from medication or bowel trouble such as excess acid or food intolerance.

The Sun (2011)

The next thing to explore is whether your soil is acid or alkaline.

Times, Sunday Times (2008)

The researchers suggest that stress encourages the body to produce more energy in the form of fatty acids and glucose.

Times, Sunday Times (2006)

But the acid test comes when you set the cost of servicing and repaying debts against the benefits of instant gratification.

Times, Sunday Times (2006)

What are its component amino acids?

Times, Sunday Times (2010)

We smoked weed, we dropped acid.

Times, Sunday Times (2011)

They'd dropped acid and thought the bulldog was licking them.

Times, Sunday Times (2015)

Word Lists

Chemistry terms

Trends of 'acid'

Translations for 'acid'

British English: acid /ˈæsɪd/ NOUN
An acid is a chemical, usually a liquid, that can burn your skin and cause damage to other substances.As you can see, the acid damaged the metal bowl.

Arabic: حَمْض
Brazilian Portuguese: ácido
Chinese: 酸
Croatian: kiselina
Czech: kyselina
Danish: syre
Dutch: zuur
European Spanish: ácido
Finnish: happo
French: acide
German: Säure
Greek: οξύ
Italian: acido
Japanese: 酸
Korean: 산
Norwegian: syre
Polish: kwas
Portuguese: ácido
Romanian: acid acizi
Russian: кислота
Spanish: ácido
Swedish: syra
Thai: กรด
Turkish: asit
Ukrainian: кислота
Vietnamese: axit

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Source

Definition of acid from the Collins English Dictionary

Comments

Comment by ALRifai on 18 Jun 2017

acid 1. having the characteristics of an acid. 2. being sour to the taste. 3. harsh or corrosive in tone. “a barrage of acid comments”. "One of bile’s main components is bile acid, a derivative of cholesterol". (acidic, acerbic, acidulent, acidulous, sour, virulent, vitriolic, unpleasant). حامض أو حامضي؛ لاذع؛ قارص؛ حاد؛ مز

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