saturation
noun
sat·u·ra·tion
ˌsa-chə-ˈrā-shən 
1
a
: the act of saturating : the state of being saturated
2
: conversion of an unsaturated to a saturated chemical compound (as by hydrogenation)
3
: a state of maximum impregnation: such as
a
: complete infiltration : permeation
b
: the presence in air of the most water possible under existent pressure and temperature
c
: magnetization to the point beyond which a further increase in the intensity of the magnetizing force will produce no further magnetization
4
a
: chromatic purity : freedom from dilution with white
b(1)
: degree of difference from the gray having the same lightness
—used of an object color
(2)
: degree of difference from the achromatic light-source color of the same brightness
—used of a light-source color
compare hue sense 2c
5
: the supplying of a market with as much of a product as it will absorb
6
: an overwhelming concentration of military forces or firepower
Examples of saturation in a Sentence
Heavy rains resulted in the saturation of the soil.
the saturation of advertising on television
Recent Examples on the Web
The year saw a record 224 saturation releases playing in 250-plus cinemas, up from 200 in 2024, as the industry fully recovered from production delays caused by COVID-19 and the Hollywood strikes.
—
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Jan. 2026
Demand for these models has cooled significantly thanks to saturation and intense competition from brands like Tesla, Mercedes, Audi, and BMW.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 6 Jan. 2026
The team revealed that the PDA asymmetric photothermal layer not only effectively addresses the issue of insufficient sustained power generation caused by water adsorption saturation but also mitigates the unstable moisture gradient resulting from excessive water evaporation.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 5 Jan. 2026
But after the trend reached saturation, French manicures fell out of style.
—Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for saturation
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Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Jan. 2026
Demand for these models has cooled significantly thanks to saturation and intense competition from brands like Tesla, Mercedes, Audi, and BMW.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 6 Jan. 2026
The team revealed that the PDA asymmetric photothermal layer not only effectively addresses the issue of insufficient sustained power generation caused by water adsorption saturation but also mitigates the unstable moisture gradient resulting from excessive water evaporation.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 5 Jan. 2026
But after the trend reached saturation, French manicures fell out of style.
—Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for saturation
Cite this Entry
“Saturation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saturation. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
saturation
noun
sat·u·ra·tion
ˌsach-ə-ˈrā-shən
1
: the act or process of saturating
2
: the state of being saturated
Medical Definition
saturation
noun
sat·u·ra·tion
ˌsach-ə-ˈrā-shən
1
: the act of saturating : the state of being saturated
2
: conversion of an unsaturated to a saturated chemical compound (as by hydrogenation)
3
: a state of maximum impregnation
especially
: the presence in air of the most water possible under existent pressure and temperature
4
a
: the one of the three psychological dimensions of color perception that is related to the purity of the color and that decreases as the amount of white present in the stimulus increases
called also intensity
compare brightness, hue
b(1)
: degree of difference from the gray having the same lightness
—used of an object color
(2)
: degree of difference from the achromatic light-source color of the same brightness
—used of a light-source color
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