acid
acid definition
acid (as′id)
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
Etymology: L acidus, sour < IE base *a-, sharp, pointed > ear
noun
- a sour substance
- Slang LSD
- Chem. 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
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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