Definition of catalyst
1
: a substance that enables a chemical reaction to proceed at a usually faster rate or under different conditions (as at a lower temperature) than otherwise possible
2
: an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action
That waterway became the catalyst of the area's industrialization. He was the catalyst in the native uprising.
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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The first known use of catalyst was in 1902
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