Definition of Equivalent

  • (a.) Equal in wortir or value, force, power, effect, import, and the like; alike in significance and value; of the same import or meaning.
  • (a.) Equal in measure but not admitting of superposition; -- applied to magnitudes; as, a square may be equivalent to a triangle.
  • (a.) Contemporaneous in origin; as, the equivalent strata of different countries.
  • (n.) Something equivalent; that which is equal in value, worth, weight, or force; as, to offer an equivalent for damage done.
  • (n.) That comparative quantity by weight of an element which possesses the same chemical value as other elements, as determined by actual experiment and reference to the same standard. Specifically: (a) The comparative proportions by which one element replaces another in any particular compound; thus, as zinc replaces hydrogen in hydrochloric acid, their equivalents are 32.5 and 1. (b) The combining proportion by weight of a substance, or the number expressing this proportion, in any particular compound; as, the equivalents of hydrogen and oxygen in water are respectively 1 and 8, and in hydric dioxide 1 and 16.
  • (n.) A combining unit, whether an atom, a radical, or a molecule; as, in acid salt two or more equivalents of acid unite with one or more equivalents of base.
  • (v. t.) To make the equivalent to; to equal; equivalence.

Antonyms of Equivalent


No Antonyms Found.

Homophones of Equivalent


No Homophones Found.