Sulfate
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Any salt or ester of sulfuric acid. US
"Another type, also common in the Taipei area has more chlorides than sulfates, and while it is also hot, its flavor is more salty than sour. The springs at Chinshan on the north coast are typical of this type."
- 2 a salt or ester of sulphuric acid wordnet
- 1 To treat something with sulfuric acid, a sulfate, or with sulfur dioxide. US, transitive
- 2 convert into a sulfate wordnet
- 3 To accumulate a deposit of lead sulfate. US
Example
More examples"Another type, also common in the Taipei area has more chlorides than sulfates, and while it is also hot, its flavor is more salty than sour. The springs at Chinshan on the north coast are typical of this type."
Etymology
From French sulfate, from New Latin sulphatum, taken from the expression acidum sulphatum (“sulfuric acid”), from sulphatus, from Latin sulphur (“sulfur”). The term was first used in 1787 by the French chemist L. B. G. De Morveau. Equivalent to sulf(ur) + -ate (“salt or ester”).
From the above noun, through -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Related phrases
More for "sulfate"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.