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Definition of acid noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

acid

noun
 
/ˈæsɪd/
 
/ˈæsɪd/
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  1. [uncountable, countable] (chemistry) a chemical, usually a liquid, that contains hydrogen and has a pH of less than seven. The hydrogen can be replaced by a metal to form a salt. Acids usually have a bitter sharp taste and can often burn holes in or damage things they touch.
    • The acid burned a hole in her coat.
    • Stomach acids can break down the poison.
    • You will need a special chemical to neutralize the acid.
    compare alkali see also acetic acid, amino acid, boric acid, citric acid, fatty acid, folic acid, formic acid, hydrochloric acid, lactic acid, nitric acid, nucleic acid, sulphuric acidTopics Physics and chemistryb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • concentrated
    • strong
    • dilute
    verb + acid
    • produce
    • neutralize
    acid + verb
    • burn something
    • break something down
    See full entry
  2. [uncountable] (slang) a powerful illegal drug that affects people’s minds and makes them see and hear things that are not really there synonym LSD
    • They smoke joints and drop acid.
    • He described the music as ‘Brahms on acid’.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + acid
    • drop
    preposition
    • on acid
    See full entry
  3. Word Originearly 17th cent. (in the sense ‘sour-tasting’): from Latin acidus, from acere ‘be sour’.
See acid in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee acid in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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