Alkaline

//ˈæl.kə.laɪn// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An alkaline battery.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of, or relating to an alkali, one of a class of caustic bases.

    "[Joseph Black's] experiments on magnesia alba, quick lime, and other alkaline substances proved that "fixed air" is given off when limestone is burned, and that the same loss is incurred when it is dissolved in muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid)."

  2. 2
    Having a pH greater than 7.
Adjective
  1. 1
    relating to or containing an alkali; having a pH greater than 7 wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
basicalcalescentalkalicbase formingbasicsaltlike

Example

More examples

"When investigating the pH (acidic, neutral, alkaline) of a liquid, don't soak the litmus paper completely in the liquid but just put the end of the paper in it."

Etymology

First attested in 1677. From alkali + -ine, ultimately from Arabic اَلْقِلْي (al-qily, “alkali, ashes of the saltwort”), related to قَلَى (qalā, “to roast in a pan, fry”).

Related phrases

alkaline airalkaline batteryalkaline earthalkaline earth metalalkaline glazealkaline hydrolysisalkaline phosphatasealkaline battery

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.