Definitions for colloidˈkɒl ɔɪd

This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word colloid

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

col•loidˈkɒl ɔɪd(n.)

  1. a substance made up of small particles (too small to be seen under an optical microscope, yet too big to pass through a semipermeable membrane) that are suspended in and dispersed throughout a solid, liquid, or gaseous medium.

    Category: Chemistry

  2. a colloidal substance in the body, as a stored secretion.

    Category: Physiology

  3. (adj.)colloidal.

    Category: Chemistry

Origin of colloid:

1840–50; < Gk kóll(a) glue + -oid

Princeton's WordNet

  1. colloid(noun)

    a mixture with properties between those of a solution and fine suspension


  1. colloid(Noun)

    A stable system of two phases, one of which is dispersed in the other in the form of very small droplets or particles.

  2. colloid(Noun)

    An intimate mixture of two substances one of which, called the dispersed phase (or colloid), is uniformly distributed in a finely divided state throughout the second substance, called the dispersion medium (or dispersing medium). The dispersion medium may be a gas, a liquid, or a solid, and the dispersed phase may also be any of these, with the exception that one does not speak of a colloidal system of one gas in another. A system of liquid or solid particles colloidally dispersed in a gas is called an aerosol. A system of solid substances or water-insoluble liquids colloidally dispersed in liquid water is called a hydrosol.

  3. colloid(Noun)

    A particle less than 1 micron in diameter, following the Wentworth scale

  4. colloid(Adjective)


  5. Origin: From ‘glue’ + -oid.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Colloid(adj)

    resembling glue or jelly; characterized by a jellylike appearance; gelatinous; as, colloid tumors

  2. Colloid(noun)

    a substance (as albumin, gum, gelatin, etc.) which is of a gelatinous rather than a crystalline nature, and which diffuses itself through animal membranes or vegetable parchment more slowly than crystalloids do; -- opposed to crystalloid

  3. Colloid(noun)

    a gelatinous substance found in colloid degeneration and colloid cancer


  1. Colloid



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