agar

noun

ˈä-gər 

1

: a gelatinous colloidal extract of a red alga (as of the genera Gelidium, Gracilaria, and Eucheuma) used especially in culture media or as a gelling and stabilizing agent in foods

2

: a culture medium containing agar

Examples of agar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hunters kill the birds, feral and domestic dogs chase them, people build shanties in their feeding grounds, locals gather red algae with ox carts and tractors to provide agar for the manufacture of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, and piles of trash add to the constellation of threats. —Jim Robbins, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Jan. 2022

To make a piece of yeast art, the scientists print nanodroplets of the different yeast strains onto a large agar plate, like a pointillist canvas. —Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 22 May 2017

Petri's dishes would be supplied with the gelatinous agar that served as a culture medium - providing anything from amino acids, salts, carbohydrates and blood - to encourage bacterial growth. —Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 31 May 2013

Even artists that are used to more traditional media than bacteria on an agar plate could submit their favorite microbiologists. —Eva Amsen, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2022

In short, do not eat mysterious agar plates in the laboratory and do not eat anything from your mother's suspicious boyfriend. —Sarah Zhang, Discover Magazine, 16 Apr. 2012

Oud comes from the resin of certain agar trees that are infected with a type of mold. —Grooming Playbook, The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Nov. 2022

Enlarge / Burkholderia pseudomallei grown on sheep blood agar for 24 hours. —Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 10 Aug. 2022

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Word History

Etymology

short for Malay agar-agar, name for the red alga from which it is extracted

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing agar

• agar-agar
• agar plate

• agar-agar
• agar plate

Kids Definition

agar

noun

ˈäg-ər 

variants also agar-agar

ˈäg-ə-ˈräg-ər

1

: a jellylike substance obtained from a red alga and used especially in culture media or to give firmness to foods

2

: a culture medium containing agar

Medical Definition

agar

noun

ˈäg-ər 

1

: a gelatinous colloidal extract of a red alga (as of the genera Gelidium, Gracilaria, and Eucheuma) used especially in culture media or as a gelling and stabilizing agent in foods

2

: a culture medium containing agar