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chemical compound

chemical compound

8 2.8
A substance made of two or more elements joined in fixed amounts, like water
  • noun
  • /ˈkɛmɪkəl ˈkɒmpaʊnd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : compuesto químico
  • Sodium chloride, commonly known as table salt, is a chemical compound formed by the reaction of sodium and chlorine.
  • organic chemical compounds
  • chemical compounds produced by plants

It's no coincidence that those two words that you've used about these chemical compounds, caffeine and adenosine, sound the same.

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Examples

  • Water is the most common chemical compound on Earth, made from hydrogen and oxygen.

  • The prime suspects of such toxins are chemical compounds.

    Academic text (2007)
  • And the other half will get water mixed with a chemical compound that we call "Lot Six."

  • Five of them will be water mixed with a tiny amount of a chemical compound, which we call, "Lot Six."

  • An invisible chemical compound tailored to each subject.

  • So here we see the starting material, this chemical compound called ADP.

  • However, evaluating the effects of chemical compounds requires many measurements.

    Academic text (2016)
  • Remember that choosing organic household cleaners also helps our planet by limiting the volume of chemical compounds.

    Blog text (20)
  • One of the most widely used and oldest chemical compounds is zinc oxide.

  • Water is the third most abundant chemical compound in the Earth's atmosphere, after nitrogen and oxygen.

    Academic text (2007)

Synonyms

compound
vschemical compound
  • Specialized
137 3.5

A substance made from two or more parts joined together

involves chemical union of elements in fixed proportions
chemical substance
vschemical compound
  • Specialized
1 3.2

A material used in reactions or to make other things like medicines

is formed specifically by elements joining in fixed proportions
combinant
vschemical compound
  • Specialized
9.9

A substance made when two or more chemicals join

requires fixed proportions of the combining elements or ingredients

How Complex

polymer
  • Specialized
38 6.3
chemical compound
  • Specialized
8 2.8
binary compound
  • Specialized
1 4.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

chemical + compound

The meaning is directly compositional: 'chemical' (relating to chemistry) modifies 'compound' (a substance formed by chemical combination), so a learner who knows both words can derive that it refers to a substance made by chemical combination. This straightforward adjective+noun construction is cross-linguistically common and follows standard vocabulary composition patterns, making it immediately comprehensible at B1.

Etymology

Chemical compound comes from the simple idea of joining parts: chemical relates to substances and compound means 'made by putting things together'. Think of two different colored building blocks joined to make a new piece, and you have the image behind a chemical compound — a substance where elements join in fixed amounts.