capillarity

noun

cap·​il·​lar·​i·​ty ˌka-pə-ˈler-ə-tē 

-ˈla-rə-

plural capillarities

1

: the property or state of being capillary

2

: the action by which the surface of a liquid where it is in contact with a solid (as in a capillary tube) is elevated or depressed depending on the relative attraction of the molecules of the liquid for each other and for those of the solid

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

But 18 species of hummingbirds did, eventually, feed at the transparent flowers, and the cameras saw a mechanism very different than capillarity at work. —K. N. Smith, Discover Magazine, 19 Aug. 2015

Because of this pair of tiny tubes, many biologists assumed that nectar just flowed up the tubes thanks to a passive process called capillarity. —K. N. Smith, Discover Magazine, 19 Aug. 2015

The results obtained suggest that oil is migrating through pores and cracks in the solid structure driven by capillarity within seconds. —Elsbeth Sites, Discover Magazine, 6 Oct. 2015

Plants transport nutrients from their roots up to the highest branches using capillarity, the inspiration for microfluidic circuits that are autonomously powered. —Albert Folch, Discover Magazine, 19 May 2021

The trouble was that the amount of nectar consumption predicted by the capillarity model didn’t always match what biologists saw hummingbirds doing in the wild. —K. N. Smith, Discover Magazine, 19 Aug. 2015

But dispersion is caused by its capillarity — the surface tension effect that makes some liquids rise in straws. —Quanta Magazine, 21 July 2015

In most fluids, capillarity is negligible compared to viscosity. —Quanta Magazine, 21 July 2015

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Word History

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

capillarity

noun

cap·​il·​lar·​i·​ty ˌkap-ə-ˈlar-ət-ē 

: the action by which the surface of a liquid where (as in a slender tube) it is in contact with a solid is raised or lowered depending upon how much the molecules of the liquid are attracted to one another and to those of the solid

Medical Definition

capillarity

noun

cap·​il·​lar·​i·​ty ˌkap-ə-ˈlar-ət-ē 

plural capillarities

: the action by which the surface of a liquid where it is in contact with a solid (as in a capillary tube) is elevated or depressed depending on the relative attraction of the molecules of the liquid for each other and for those of the solid