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

TreeSoil builds on ancient land-shaping practices found in arid regions, where farmers once formed stone or earthen rings to shelter young plants from heat, wind, and rapid evaporation. —New Atlas, 20 Nov. 2025

Those gains came on the back of the evaporation of manufacturing jobs elsewhere. —Lael Brainard, Foreign Affairs, 10 Nov. 2025

This is because warmer air can carry greater amounts of moisture, and warming seas also allow for the evaporation of greater amounts of water vapor into the atmosphere, giving hurricanes more energy. —Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2025

The evaporation of food assistance would likely hit the region hard. —Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 27 Oct. 2025

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