: a white brittle solid NaOH that is a strong caustic base used especially in making soap, rayon, and paper
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebDuring alkaline hydrolysis, a human body is sealed in a long, stainless-steel chamber, while a heated solution of 95 percent water and 5 percent sodium hydroxide passes over and around it. Lauren Oster, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 July 2022 These may list ingredients such as saponified vegetable oils, sodium palmitate, sodium cocoate or sodium hydroxide. Chiara Butler, Good Housekeeping, 29 June 2022 The substance is found in products such brake linings and gaskets, and is used to manufacture chlorine bleach and sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda.CBS News, 5 Apr. 2022 But sodium hydroxide is only highly caustic or corrosive in high doses, Dr. Christopher Holstege, a medical toxicologist at the University of Virginia, told USA TODAY. Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2022 There are 10 manufacturing plants in the United States that still use asbestos to make chlorine and sodium hydroxide, but EPA officials said their reliance on this technology has declined over time. Anna Phillips, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Apr. 2022 One of the chemicals commonly used in soaps and detergents is sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda. Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Mar. 2022 Consider what happened in February when a hacker infiltrated the city water system in Oldsmar, Florida, and attempted to raise the level of sodium hydroxide from 100 parts per million to a lethal 11,100 parts per million. Dan Mondor, Forbes, 21 Sep. 2021 In February, someone tried to poison a Florida city's water supply by hacking into its control system and dramatically increasing the amount of sodium hydroxide. Brian Barrett, Wired, 16 Oct. 2021 See More
Word History
First Known Use
1885, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
sodium hydroxide
noun
: a white brittle deliquescent solid NaOH that dissolves readily in water to form a strongly alkaline and caustic solution and that is used in pharmacy as an alkalizing agent