osmosis
pronunciation
How to pronounce osmosis in British English:
UK [ɒzˈməʊsɪs]
How to pronounce osmosis in American English:
US [ɑzˈmoʊsɪs]
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- Noun:
- diffusion of molecules through a semipermeable membrane from a place of higher concentration to a place of lower concentration until the concentration on both sides is equal
Word Origin
- osmosis (n.)
- 1867, Latinized from osmose (1854), shortened from endosmosis (1830s), from endosmose "inward passage of a fluid through a porous septum" (1829), from French endo- "inward" + Greek osmos "a thrusting, a pushing," from stem of othein "to push, to thrust," from PIE *wedhe- "to push, strike" (cognates: Sanskrit vadhati "pushes, strikes, destroys," Avestan vadaya- "to repulse"). Figurative sense is from 1900. Related: Osmotic (1854, from earlier endosmotic).
Example
- 1. The power in question was generated by osmosis .
- 2. Other plants employ reverse osmosis .
- 3. Membrane technologies consist of a group of treatment processes which include reverse osmosis , nanofiltration and ultrafiltration .
- 4. The current desalination methods , distillation and reverse osmosis , are expensive and require lots of energy .
- 5. A process called reverse osmosis can convert wastewater into h20 that 's as pure as the distilled stuff-even cleaner than what we usually drink .