noun ·6 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The hydrolysis of an ester under basic conditions to form an alcohol and the salt of the acid. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   a chemical reaction in which an ester is heated with an alkali (especially the alkaline hydrolysis of a fat or oil to make soap) wordnet
3. 3
   The reaction of a metallic alkali (base) with a fat or oil to form soap. countable, uncountable

Etymology

From French saponification, from saponifier (“saponify”).

Related phrases

saponification numbersaponification value

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