transitive verb precipitated, precipitating
- to throw headlong; hurl downward
- to cause to happen before expected, warranted, needed, or desired; bring on; hasten: to precipitate a crisis
- Chem.
- to cause (a slightly soluble substance) to become insoluble, as by heat or by a chemical reagent, and separate out from a solution
- to cause the separation of a suspended liquid or solid from a gas
- Meteorol. to condense (water vapor) and cause to fall to the ground as rain, snow, sleet, etc.
noun
a substance that is precipitated out from a solution or gas