adiabatic

adjective

adi·​a·​bat·​ic ˌa-dē-ə-ˈba-tik How to pronounce adiabatic (audio)
ˌā-ˌdī-ə-
: occurring without loss or gain of heat
adiabatic expansion of a gas
adiabatically adverb

Examples of adiabatic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Stacking them in layers could yield compact and energy-efficient adiabatic circuits, but at the moment such 3D fabrication is still quite costly. IEEE Spectrum, 25 Aug. 2017 The catch is that, to avoid transferring any heat—to be what physicists call an adiabatic process—the series of logical operations in the computation must usually be carried out infinitely slowly. Philip Ball, Scientific American, 29 Mar. 2022 The result is adiabatic cooling. Elsbeth Sites, Discover Magazine, 7 Jan. 2014 Race to the Bottom 1926: Chemists first describe a method, called adiabatic demagnetization, that uses magnetic fields to cool materials below 1 kelvin. Stephen Ornes, Discover Magazine, 25 June 2019 According to the study, this mixture undergoes an adiabatic expansion—the gases expand causing the temperature to drop. Amy Klinkhammer, Discover Magazine, 14 Sep. 2017 The catch is that, to avoid transferring any heat—that is, to be what physicists call an adiabatic process—the series of logical operations in the computation must usually be carried out infinitely slowly. Philip Ball, Scientific American, 29 Mar. 2022 The Universe is born with imperfections that are 100% adiabatic and 0% isocurvature in nature. Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 6 July 2021 This occurs due to a phenomenon called adiabatic cooling. Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 20 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Greek adiábatos "impassable" (from a- a- entry 2 + diabatós "to be crossed, fordable," verbal adjective of diabaínein "to step across, pass over," from dia- dia- + baínein "to walk, step") + -ic entry 1 — more at come entry 1

First Known Use

1870, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of adiabatic was in 1870

Dictionary Entries Near adiabatic

Cite this Entry

“Adiabatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adiabatic. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

adiabatic

adjective
adi·​a·​bat·​ic ˌad-ē-ə-ˈbat-ik How to pronounce adiabatic (audio)
ˌā-ˌdī-ə-
: occurring without loss or gain of heat
adiabatic expansion of a gas
adiabatically
-ˈbat-i-k(ə-)lē
adverb
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