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variants
or less commonly pipet
: a small piece of apparatus which typically consists of a narrow tube into which fluid is drawn by suction (as for dispensing or measurement) and retained by closing the upper end
pipette
verb
or less commonly pipet
Examples of pipette in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Other problems that harm embryos can crop up in routine medical practice, Dr. Sparks said, like an embryo adhering to the side of a pipette, or a biopsy not going well.
—Sarah Kliff, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024
Or, use the oil as a deep-conditioning treatment by rubbing a full pipette into the palms and smoothing the product through mid-lengths to ends.
—Lauren Valenti, Vogue, 4 Oct. 2023
Harvesting venom is easier when working with large spiders, which secrete the toxin — then collected noninvasively with a pipette — in sufficient amounts for researchers to analyze and test.
—Leah Shaffer, Discover Magazine, 24 Feb. 2016
To use, apply three to four pipettes along your hairline and part after washing your hair, then gently massage the serum into your scalp.
—Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 17 May 2023
The star’s sperm cells were quickly scooped up via glass pipettes, deposited into individual vials and transferred to the aquarium’s lab where they were cryogenically frozen.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Oct. 2023
The shortage of pipette tips has meant that scientists have to come up with their own day-to-day solutions, in some cases washing and re-using pipette tips or running tests in batches, reports STAT News.
—Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Apr. 2021
The sources of these emissions include everything from single-use pipette tips in research labs, to the solvents used to make drugs, to the ultra-cold freezers that store vaccines.
—Betsy Ladyzhets, STAT, 28 Sep. 2023
Martí Gutierrez moved the dish over to a larger microscope, equipped with pipettes manipulated by joysticks.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pipette.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
French pipette, diminutive of pipe pipe, cask, from Vulgar Latin *pipa, *pippa pipe
First Known Use
1839, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near pipette
Cite this Entry
“Pipette.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pipette. Accessed 2 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
pipette
noun
pi·pette
pī-ˈpet
: a device for measuring and transferring small volumes of liquid that typically consists of a narrow glass tube into which the liquid is drawn by suction and kept by blocking the upper end
pipette
verb
Medical Definition
pipette
noun
pi·pette
variants
also pipet
: a small piece of apparatus which typically consists of a narrow tube into which fluid is drawn by suction (as for dispensing or measurement) and retained by closing the upper end
pipette
verb
also pipet
pipetted; pipetting
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