Lyophilize
verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Synonym of freeze-dry.
"Lyophilization The process of vacuum-drying substances from the frozen state. The water is sublimated into a trap at low temperature or is absorbed by drying agents. Verb: lyophilize."
- 2 to dry (blood, serum, or tissue) by freezing in a high vacuum wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Lyophilization The process of vacuum-drying substances from the frozen state. The water is sublimated into a trap at low temperature or is absorbed by drying agents. Verb: lyophilize."
Etymology
First use appears c. 1894 in the US. From Ancient Greek λύω (lúō, “to loosen, to dissolve”) + φίλος (phílos, “beloved”) + -ίζειν (-ízein); equivalent to lyo- + -phile + -ize. Compare hydrophilic (“water-absorbing”, literally “water-loving”) for use of -phile for “absorbing”. See lyophilization for more. Cognates exist in other European languages by means of the same construction.
Related phrases
More for "lyophilize"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.