noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A molecule or moiety (ion, functional group, or radical) that binds to another chemical entity to form a larger complex; as, especially:; Such an entity that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. physical
2. 2
   a substance (an atom or molecule or radical or ion) that forms a complex around a central atom wordnet
3. 3
   A molecule or moiety (ion, functional group, or radical) that binds to another chemical entity to form a larger complex; as, especially:; Such an entity that forms a complex with a biomolecule to serve a biological purpose. physical
4. 4
   A letter that orthography requires or allows to be ligated with one or more other letters to form a ligature, such as a in æ or o in œ.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ligandus, gerundive of ligo (“bind”).

Related phrases

backbonding ligandbidentate ligandbridging ligandligand field theorymonodentate ligandmultidentate ligandcoordination compoundfunctional group

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