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oxygen definition

oxy·gen (äk′si jən)

noun

a colorless, odorless, tasteless, gaseous chemical element that occurs free in the atmosphere, forming one fifth of its volume, and in combination in water, sandstone, limestone, etc.: it is very active, combines with nearly all other elements, is the most common element in the earth's crust, and is essential to life processes and to combustion: symbol, O; at. no., 8

Etymology: Fr oxygène, altered (1786) < earlier oxygine, lit., acid-producing: so named (1777) by Antoine Laurent Lavoisier < Gr oxys (see oxy-) + L gignere, to beget (see genus): from the belief that oxygen is present in all acids

Related Forms:

  • oxygenic ox′y·gen′·ic (-jen′ik) adjective or oxygenous oxyg′·enous (äk sij′ə nəs)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

medical oxygen definition - medical

oxygen Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • dissolve: Higher amounts of dissolved oxygen are found in freshwater.

Adjective modifier

  • hyperbaric: Hyperbaric oxygen may be the better choice of preventive measures.

Modifies a noun

  • saturation: In the study, a team of Belfast researchers measured oxygen saturation levels - the amount of oxygen carried in the blood.

Noun used with modifier

  • carbonyl: The camphor molecule has one polar atom ( a carbonyl oxygen ) and three methyl groups.
oxygen usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

oxygen quotes

   Cultural literacy is the oxygen of social intercourse.

-Hirsch, E(ric) D(onald),Jr

Democracies must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijackers of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend.

-Thatcher, Margaret HildaThatcher, Baroness

oxygen quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"oxygen." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/oxygen>

APA Style

oxygen. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/oxygen

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