osmosis

os·mo·sis

noun \äz-ˈmō-səs, äs-\

Definition of OSMOSIS

1

: movement of a solvent (as water) through a semipermeable membrane (as of a living cell) into a solution of higher solute concentration that tends to equalize the concentrations of solute on the two sides of the membrane

2

: a process of absorption or diffusion suggestive of the flow of osmotic action; especially : a usually effortless often unconscious assimilation <learned a number of languages by osmosis — Roger Kimball>

Examples of OSMOSIS

1. She seems to learn foreign languages by osmosis.

Origin of OSMOSIS

New Latin, short for endosmosis

First Known Use: 1867

Other Chemical Engineering Terms

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

Rhymes with OSMOSIS

cirrhosis, hypnosis, kenosis, lordosis, meiosis, miosis, mitosis, narcosis, necrosis, neurosis, orthosis, prognosis, psychosis, sclerosis, stenosis, thrombosis