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''polymer'' ▫ᴱᴺ Entries

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''polymer'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260213210016-00-⌔

polymer - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

polymer (countable and uncountable, plural polymers)

  • (organic chemistry) A long or larger molecule consisting of a chain or network of many repeating units, formed by chemically bonding together many identical or similar small molecules called monomers. A polymer is formed by polymerization, the joining of many monomer molecules.
    • ✤ Hypernyms: molecule; compound
    • ✤ Coordinate terms: monomer; oligomer; dimer, trimer, tetramer, pentamer, hexamer, heptamer, septamer, octamer, nonamer, decamer (etc, n+1)
  • A material consisting of such polymer molecules.
    • ✤ The water absorbency of the anionically starch-grafted AA/AM absorbent is markedly affected by the pH of the buffer solution at different ionic strengths. The charge of the ionic monomer affects the pH sensitivity of the superabsorbent polymers. An acidic superabsorbent normally ionizes at high pH but unionizes at low pH.1
    • ✤ Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.2

Etymology

From poly- +‎ -mer, from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús, “many”) + μέρος (méros, “part”). Coined by Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1833, though his definition was quite different from the modern one.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈpɒl.ɪ.mə/
  • (General American, dialects of Canada) IPA: /ˈpɑ.lɪ.mɚ/, /ˈpɑ.lə.mɚ/
    • Audio (California): 🔊
  • (Canada, dialects of the US) IPA: /ˈpɒl.ə.mɚ/
  • (Australian) IPA: /ˈpɔl.ə.mə/
  • (New Zealand) IPA: /ˈpɒl.ə.mə/, [ˈpɔ̟l.ə.mə]
  • Hyphenation: poly‧mer

Printed 2026-06-28.

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Footnotes

  1. 2000 October 1, Suda Kiatkamjornwong, Wararuk Chomsaksakul, Manit Sonsuk, “Radiation modification of water absorption of cassava starch by acrylic acid/acrylamide”, in Radiation Physics and Chemistry, volume 59, number 4, →DOI, page 423: ↩

  2. 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200: ↩

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Secondary

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