ALKALI (alkalies)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: alkalies   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does alkali mean? 

• ALKALI (noun)
  The noun ALKALI has 2 senses:

1. any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water

2. a mixture of soluble salts found in arid soils and some bodies of water; detrimental to agriculture

  Familiarity information: ALKALI used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALKALI (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

alkali; base

Context example:

bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia

Hypernyms ("alkali" is a kind of...):

chemical compound; compound ((chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "alkali"):

pyridine (a toxic colorless flammable liquid organic base with a disagreeable odor; usually derived from coal)

purine (a colorless crystalline organic base containing nitrogen; the parent compound of various biologically important substances)

purine (any of several bases that are derivatives of purine)

glyoxaline; imidazole; iminazole (an organic base C3H4N2; a histamine inhibitor)

cyanuramide; melamine (a white crystalline organic base; used mainly in making melamine resins)

pyrimidine (any of several basic compounds derived from pyrimidine)

Derivation:

alkalify; alkalize (turn basic and less acidic)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A mixture of soluble salts found in arid soils and some bodies of water; detrimental to agriculture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("alkali" is a kind of...):

salt (a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal))

Derivation:

alkalic (relating to or containing an alkali; having a pH greater than 7)

alkalify (turn basic and less acidic)

 Context examples 

In medicine, an alkali, such as sodium bicarbonate, may be given to patients to lower high levels of acid in the blood or urine that can be caused by certain medicines or conditions.

(Alkalinization, NCI Dictionary)

An alkali is a chemical that can dissolve in water, combine with acids to form salts, and make acids less acidic.

(Alkalinity, NCI Dictionary)

An illegal drug composed of the smokable, baseform of cocaine that is produced by dissolving cocaine hydrochloride in an alkali solution, usually sodium bicarbonate and water, and subsequent boiling.

(Crack Cocaine, NCI Thesaurus)

Contact dermatitis caused by exposure to alkalis.

(Dermatitis due to Alkalis, NCI Thesaurus)

The carbonate salt of lithium, a soft alkali metal, with antimanic and hematopoietic activities.

(Lithium Carbonate, NCI Thesaurus)

An example of an alkali is sodium hydroxide.

(Alkali, NCI Dictionary)

More than 65,000 square kilometers of salt and alkali land will be transformed in China.

(Saltwater Rice Successfully Harvested by Chinese Scientists, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The observations of WASP-127b reveal the presence of a large concentration of alkali metals in its atmosphere, allowing simultaneous detections of sodium, potassium and lithium for the first time in an exoplanet.

(Multiple metals – and possible signs of water – found in unique exoplanet, University of Cambridge)

Refers to the amount of alkali.

(Alkalinity, NCI Dictionary)

Alkalis have a bitter taste and turn certain dyes blue.

(Alkali, NCI Dictionary)