evaporation

noun

evap·​o·​ra·​tion i-ˌva-pə-ˈrā-shən 

: the act or process of evaporating:

a

: change from a liquid to a vapor

evaporation of water

But warming increases the evaporation of ocean water, which could increase the snowfall on the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets, remove water from the ocean, and lower sea level.

—Jack M. Hollander

b

: the vanishing or disappearance of something

The pope's attempt to arrest the evaporation of the Christian tradition in Europe was also unsuccessful.

—Conrad Black

No longer a machine that accelerates the evaporation of resources, in the Roman context the banquet becomes a theatre of wealth and property, of social distinction, or social-climbing.

—James N. Davidson

Examples of evaporation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sarah Porter, the director of ASU’s Kyl Center for Water Policy, explained that while 15 to 20 percent of the water TSMC uses is lost to evaporation, much of the rest is processed in the company’s recycling plant. — Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 29 Oct. 2026

Researchers can produce these thin films efficiently using accessible methods such as low-cost solution processing, thermal evaporation, and chemical bath deposition. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2026

Dry eye disease is tied to excessive tear evaporation or inflammation on the eye’s surface. — Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Ask whether your symptoms point to tear evaporation, the mechanism Miebo targets, per the Flow Space report on Andrews’s diagnosis, or to the inflammation that led Bowen’s doctor to prescribe Xiidra. — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 19 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for evaporation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Kids Definition

evaporation

noun

evap·​o·​ra·​tion

i-ˌvap-ə-ˈrā-shən

: the process of evaporating

Medical Definition

evaporation

noun

evap·​o·​ra·​tion i-ˌvap-ə-ˈrā-shən 

: the change by which any substance is converted from a liquid state into and carried off in vapor

specifically : the conversion of a liquid into vapor in order to remove it wholly or partly from a liquid of higher boiling point or from solids dissolved in or mixed with it

evaporate

i-ˈvap-ə-ˌrāt 

verb

evaporated; evaporating

evaporator

-ˌrāt-ər 

noun