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

To maintain the pond after those nine months, since evaporation will cause water loss, the pond would continue drawing water as needed. —Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 16 Dec. 2025

Researchers suggest combining it with evaporation, selective adsorbents, or lithium-precipitating chemicals. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Dec. 2025

Why Mulch Is Important In The Winter Mulching provides numerous benefits to a garden year-round, including regulating the soil temperature, minimizing evaporation in the soil, and protecting the roots. —Lauren David, Southern Living, 12 Dec. 2025

Workers are putting the finishing touches on a three-year effort to restore 435 acres of former industrial salt evaporation ponds to natural wetlands and tidal marshes, along with building new public bayfront hiking trails. —Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 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