a white, solid, water-soluble polymer of acrylamide, used in secondary oil recovery, as a thickening agent, a flocculant, and an absorbent, and to separate macromolecules of different molecular weights
Word origin
[1940–45; poly- + acrylamide]This word is first recorded in the period 1940–45. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: blockbuster, sealant, set-aside, silkscreen, zappoly- is a combining form with the meanings “much, many” and, in chemistry, “polymeric,”used in the formation of compound words. Other words that use the affix poly- include: polyandrous, polyculture, polyethylene
Examples of 'polyacrylamide' in a sentence
polyacrylamide
He created a starch gel--a precursor, he says, of polyacrylamide.
The Scientist (2001)
This is usually accomplished using hydrophilic coatings such as polyacrylamide.