DROPLET

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does droplet mean? 

• DROPLET (noun)
  The noun DROPLET has 1 sense:

1. a tiny drop

  Familiarity information: DROPLET used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DROPLET (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A tiny drop

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

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

drib; driblet; drop (a small indefinite quantity (especially of a liquid))

Derivation:

drop (a small indefinite quantity (especially of a liquid))

drop (a shape that is spherical and small)

 Context examples 

Only when this step happens can the surfactants do their work to break oil into droplets.

(Sunlight reduces effectiveness of dispersants used to clean up oil spills, National Science Foundation)

It contains numerous small droplets of lipids and high numbers of mitochondria as its primary function is to generate body heat.

(Brown Adipose Tissue, NCI Thesaurus)

A cancer vaccine adjuvant that consists of an oil droplet emulsion of monophosphoryl lipid A and mycobacterial cell wall skeleton.

(Detox-B Adjuvant, NCI Thesaurus)

When you cough or sneeze, you send tiny germ-filled droplets into the air.

(Germs and Hygiene, NIH)

Triglycerides form fatty droplets that exclude water and take up minimal space.

(Beta-Oxidation of Fatty Acids Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

FUS proteins can change back and forth from small liquid droplets (resembling oil droplets in water) to small gels (like jelly) inside nerve cells.

(Mechanism behind neuron death in motor neurone disease and frontotemporal dementia discovered, University of Cambridge)

Under stronger illumination, high pressure bubbles briefly form to push the droplets along a surface.

(Colour-changing artificial ‘chameleon skin’ powered by nanomachines, University of Cambridge)

These tiny particles act by forming cloud droplets after all the larger particles in a warm and humid environment have already been used to form droplets.

(Tiny pollutants intensify storms in the Amazon, SciDev.Net)

Tiny droplets with the virus can enter the air.

(Hantavirus Infections, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Fine particles in the air are made of microscopic solids and liquid droplets that are so small that they can be inhaled and cause serious health problems.

(Combatting epigenetic effects from outdoor air pollution, NIH)