liquid

¹liq·uid

adjective \ˈli-kwəd\

Definition of LIQUID

1

: flowing freely like water

2

: having the properties of a liquid : being neither solid nor gaseous

3

a : shining and clear <large liquid eyes>

b : being musical and free of harshness in sound

c : smooth and unconstrained in movement

d : articulated without friction and capable of being prolonged like a vowel <a liquid consonant>

4

a : consisting of or capable of ready conversion into cash <liquid assets>

b : capable of covering current liabilities quickly with current assets

— li·quid·i·ty \li-ˈkwi-də-tē\ noun

— liq·uid·ly \ˈli-kwəd-lē\ adverb

— liq·uid·ness noun

Examples of LIQUID

1. Water and milk are liquid substances.
2. The medicine is available in liquid form.
3. She had large liquid eyes.
4. the liquid notes of a bird
5. the liquid grace of the dancer's movements

Origin of LIQUID

Middle English, from Middle French liquide, from Latin liquidus, from liquēre to be fluid; akin to Latin lixa water, lye, and perhaps to Old Irish fliuch damp

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to LIQUID

Synonyms

flowing, fluent, fluid

Antonyms

hard, nonliquid, solid

Related Words

circumfluent, circumfluous; diluted, thin, watery, weak; semiliquid, semisolid

Near Antonyms

clotted, coagulated, gelatinous, gelled, jelled, jellied, thick; gluey, glutinous, gooey, gummy, viscous

Other Chemical Engineering Terms

alkali, cation, decant, hygroscopic, isotope, oxidize, slurry, solute, viscous

²liquid

noun

Definition of LIQUID

1

: a liquid consonant

2

: a fluid (as water) that has no independent shape but has a definite volume and does not expand indefinitely and that is only slightly compressible

Examples of LIQUID

1. Water and milk are liquids.
2. a bottle of green liquid

First Known Use of LIQUID

1530

Other Chemical Engineering Terms

alkali, cation, decant, hygroscopic, isotope, oxidize, slurry, solute, viscous

liquid

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

One of the three principal states of matter, intermediate between a gas and a solid. A liquid has neither the orderliness of a solid nor the randomness of a gas. Liquids have the ability to flow under the action of very small shear stresses. Liquids in contact with their own vapour or air have a surface tension that causes the interface to assume the configuration of minimum area (i.e., spherical). Surfaces between liquids and solids have interfacial tensions that determine whether the liquid will wet the other material. With the exception of liquid metals, molten salts, and solutions of salts, the electrical conductivities of liquids are small.