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hydrolysis

Hydrolysis is defined as a chemical reaction where something reacts with water and is changed into a new substance.

(noun)

An example of hydrolysis is the change of a starch into glucose.

See hydrolysis in Webster's New World College Dictionary

a chemical reaction in which a substance reacts with water so as to be changed into one or more other substances, as a starch into glucose, natural fats into glycerol and fatty acids, or a salt into a weak acid or a weak base

Origin: hydro- + -lysis

Related Forms:

hydrolytic adjective

See hydrolysis in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

Decomposition of a chemical compound by reaction with water, such as the dissociation of a dissolved salt or the catalytic conversion of starch to glucose.

Related Forms: