| English Dictionary |
SAPONIFICATION
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| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does saponification mean?
• SAPONIFICATION (noun)
The noun SAPONIFICATION has 1 sense:
1. a chemical reaction in which an ester is heated with an alkali (especially the alkaline hydrolysis of a fat or oil to make soap)
Familiarity information: SAPONIFICATION used as a noun is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
A chemical reaction in which an ester is heated with an alkali (especially the alkaline hydrolysis of a fat or oil to make soap)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("saponification" is a kind of...):
chemical reaction; reaction ((chemistry) a process in which one or more substances are changed into others)
Derivation:
saponify (convert into soap by hydrolizing an ester into an acid and alcohol as a result of treating it with an alkali)
saponify (become converted into soap by being hydrolized into an acid and alcohol as a result of being treated with an alkali)
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