Meaning & use
solute
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Meaning
nouncountablechemistry
The substance that is dissolved in a liquid to make a solution, such as the sugar in sweet tea.
Grammar: Countable: different solutes can be dissolved in the same solvent.
Patterns
- a solute in something
- dissolve a solute in something
In salt water, the salt is the solute and the water is the solvent.
Students measured how much solute would dissolve before the liquid became saturated.
A warmer liquid can usually hold more solute.
Word forms
| plural | solutes |
|---|
Common combinations
- dissolved solute
- The dissolved solute cannot be seen but changes the taste of the water.
- solute concentration
- Solute concentration is higher inside the cell than outside.
- add a solute
- Add a solute to the beaker and stir until it disappears.
- solute particles
- Solute particles spread evenly throughout the liquid.
- solute and solvent
- Learn the difference between solute and solvent before the quiz.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dissolved substance
- Dissolved substance is a plain, everyday way to say solute, and appears in less technical explanations.
Opposites
Word family
- solution noun
- a liquid mixture in which something is dissolved
- solvent noun
- the liquid that does the dissolving
- dissolve verb
- to mix into a liquid and become part of it
- soluble adjective
- able to be dissolved
- solubility noun
- how much of a substance can dissolve in a liquid
Commonly confused: solute or solvent? solute or solution?
solute vs solvent
The solvent is the liquid that dissolves something; the solute is what gets dissolved. In coffee with sugar, the water is the solvent and the sugar is the solute.
solute vs solution
A solution is the whole mixture, while the solute is only the dissolved part of it.
Practice
When you stir sugar into hot tea, the sugar is the ___.
Choose one answer.
The dissolved substance is the solute. The tea (mostly water) is the solvent, and the finished sweet tea is the solution.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “solute”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.