noun
polymer
PAH-lih-mer/ˈpɑːlɪmər/
A substance made of large molecules built from repeating units.
The plastic polymer contains long molecules made from repeating structural units.
Etymology
“Many parts” describes a polymer's construction: a large number of simple molecular units make up the larger substance. In the selected sense, those repeating units form long chains.
In context
gels are a jelly-like material made mostly of liquid but with a little polymer added to make them solid
More examples
- Natural rubber is a polymer.
- The engineers test several polymers for flexibility.
- Starch is a natural polymer made of repeating sugar units.
Forms
polymer · polymers
polymeric adjective — Made of molecules with repeating units.
polymerize verb — To combine small molecules into polymers.
Similar words
- plastic
- Plastic is moldable polymer material, often mixed with additives.