copolymer

American

[koh-pol-uh-mer] / koʊˈpɒl ə mər /

noun

a chemical compound of high molecular weight produced by polymerizing two or more different monomers together.

copolymer British

/ kəʊˈpɒlɪmə /

noun

a chemical compound of high molecular weight formed by uniting the molecules of two or more different compounds (monomers) Compare polymer oligomer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

copolymer Scientific

/ kō-pŏl′ə-mər /

A polymer of two or more different monomers. The synthetic rubber used to make tire treads and shoe soles, for example, is a copolymer made of the monomers butadiene and styrene.

Etymology

Origin of copolymer

First recorded in 1935–40; co- + polymer

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

copolymer

The researchers came up with a winning combination that includes a polymer called pluronic, which is a type of block copolymer that can self-assemble into spheres called micelles.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024

At launch, each motor had about 1.1 million pounds of polybutadiene acrylonitrile copolymer propellant, which has the consistency of a pencil eraser.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2023

Even the name of the company that applied for approval is redacted, and the records give only a generic name for the chemicals: fluorinated acrylic alkylamino copolymer.

From New York Times ● Jul. 12, 2021

Short copolymer chains refract shorter wavelengths of light: ultraviolet, blues and greens.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 13, 2020

The styrene–maleic acid copolymer: a versatile tool in membrane research.

From Nature ● Apr. 24, 2018

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023