Meaning & use
aliquot
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Meanings
nouncountablechemistrytechnical
A small, measured portion taken out of a larger sample, such as a liquid, so it can be tested.
Grammar: Often followed by of: an aliquot of the solution.
Patterns
- an aliquot of something
She pipetted a 5 ml aliquot of the solution into the tube.
Each aliquot was frozen until it was needed.
The technician took an aliquot from the blood sample.
adjectivebefore a nounmathematicstechnical
In mathematics, describing a number that divides another number exactly, with no remainder.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: an aliquot part.
Patterns
- an aliquot part of something
Three is an aliquot part of twelve.
The students listed every aliquot part of thirty.
An aliquot sum adds up the proper divisors of a number.
verbtransitivetechnicalchemistry
To divide a sample into smaller measured portions.
Grammar: Takes an object: aliquot the sample.
Patterns
- aliquot something into something
She aliquoted the reagent into ten tubes.
Please aliquot the sample before freezing it.
The lab aliquots every batch of serum.
Word forms
| plural | aliquots |
|---|---|
| third person singular | aliquots |
| past tense | aliquoted |
| -ing form | aliquoting |
Common combinations
- take an aliquot
- Take an aliquot of the mixture and test it.
- aliquot of the sample
- An aliquot of the sample was sent to the lab.
- frozen aliquot
- Each frozen aliquot was thawed once only.
- aliquot into tubes
- They aliquoted the solution into tubes.
- aliquot part
- Four is an aliquot part of twenty.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sample
- Sample is wider and need not be exact, but an aliquot is a precisely measured portion.
- portion
- Portion is the everyday word and does not suggest laboratory precision.
- divisor
- Divisor is the mathematical term for a number dividing another, but it does not describe samples.
- fraction
- Fraction means a part of a whole in general, but aliquot means a precisely measured part.
Word family
- aliquoting noun
- the act of dividing a sample into portions
- aliquoted adjective
- divided into portions
- aliquot part noun
- a divisor with no remainder
- aliquots noun
- plural of aliquot
Commonly confused: aliquot or alibi?
aliquot vs alibi
An alibi is a claim of being elsewhere at the time of a crime; it only looks similar to aliquot.
Practice
The technician drew a 2 ml ____ of the solution and put it into a clean tube.
Choose one answer.
An aliquot is a measured portion of a sample. An alibi, alloy and allocation are real words but do not describe a sample portion.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “aliquot”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.