Word
osmosis
Phoneticsos·mo·sis
US/ˌɔzˈmoʊsɪs/
UK/ɒzmˈəʊsɪs/
Definition
n. the way water or other liquids move through a thin skin or membrane from a weak mixture to a strong one.
n. the spontaneous net movement of solvent molecules through a semipermeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration.
Examples
“Osmosis helps plants absorb water from the soil.”
“During the biology lab, students observed how osmosis causes potato slices to swell when placed in distilled water.”
“The kidneys rely on the principle of osmosis to regulate the body's fluid balance, ensuring that excess water is excreted while essential electrolytes remain within the bloodstream.”
Examples
simple
“Osmosis helps plants absorb water from the soil.”
contextual
“During the biology lab, students observed how osmosis causes potato slices to swell when placed in distilled water.”
complex
“The kidneys rely on the principle of osmosis to regulate the body's fluid balance, ensuring that excess water is excreted while essential electrolytes remain within the bloodstream.”
Usage
Uncountable in general scientific contexts; countable when referring to specific instances or experiments.
Real-World Examples
“Also, Tim Howard as the token American, albeit one who spent 13 seasons of his goalkeeping career in the Premier League, deemed sufficiently English by osmosis to join the crew.” “Most industrial approaches to PFAS treat the pollutant as something to be caught: activated carbon adsorbs it, and reverse osmosis filters it out.” Etymology
From endosmose and exosmose, both coined by French physician Henri Dutrochet in 1826; from (respectively) Ancient Greek ἔνδον (éndon, “within”) and Ancient Greek ἔξω (éxō, “outer, external”), plus Ancient Greek ὠσμός (ōsmós, “push, impulsion”), from ὠθέω (ōthéō).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/osmosis