VALENCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does valence mean? 

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

1. (biology) a relative capacity to unite or react or interact as with antigens or a biological substrate

2. (chemistry) a property of atoms or radicals; their combining power given in terms of the number of hydrogen atoms (or the equivalent)

  Familiarity information: VALENCE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VALENCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(biology) a relative capacity to unite or react or interact as with antigens or a biological substrate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

valence; valency

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

power; powerfulness (possession of controlling influence)

Attribute:

univalent (used of a chromosome that is not paired or united with its homologous chromosome during synapsis)

bivalent; double (used of homologous chromosomes associated in pairs in synapsis)

multivalent (used of the association of three or more homologous chromosomes during the first division of meiosis)

monovalent (containing only one kind of antibody)

polyvalent (containing several antibodies each capable of counteracting a specific antigen)

Domain category:

biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(chemistry) a property of atoms or radicals; their combining power given in terms of the number of hydrogen atoms (or the equivalent)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

valence; valency

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

power; powerfulness (possession of controlling influence)

Attribute:

monovalent; univalent (having a valence of 1)

multivalent; polyvalent (having more than one valence, or having a valence of 3 or higher)

Domain category:

chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)

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

covalence; covalency (valence characterized by the sharing of electrons in a chemical compound; the number of pairs of electrons an atom can share)

 Context examples 

An inorganic or organic substance that contains the metallic element lead either in its positive-2 or 4 valence state.

(Lead compound, NCI Thesaurus)

Free Radical Binding involves temporary interaction with chemically unstable and highly reactive molecules (free radicals) having an unsatisfied electron valence pair.

(Free Radical Binding, NCI Thesaurus)

A highly corrosive, inorganic substance that contains the metallic element chromium in its positive-6 valence state.

(Chromium Hexavalent Compound, NCI Thesaurus)

An inorganic substance that contains the metallic element cadmium usually in its positive-2 valence state and forms toxic fumes of cadmium oxide when heated.

(Cadmium Compound, NCI Thesaurus)

A white, odorless, inorganic substance that contains the semi-metallic element arsenic usually in the 3 and 5-valence state, and emits toxic arsenic fumes when heated to decomposition.

(Arsenic Compound, NCI Thesaurus)

A type of atomic spectroscopy capable of qualitatively or quantitatively determining certain cations (particularly Na, K, Rb, Cs, Ca, Ba, Cu) by utilizing a low temperature flame capable of exciting a valence electron to an upper energy state which emits light at a wavelength unique to each cation as the electron returns to its ground state.

(Flame Photometry, NCI Thesaurus)