Skip to main content
specific gravity

specific gravity

1 4.8
How heavy something is compared with the same amount of water
  • noun
  • /spɪˈsɪfɪk ˈɡrævɪti/
  • Specialized
translation icon : gravedad específica
  • The specific gravity and Blaine fineness of the cement were 3.15 and 3800 cm²/g respectively.
  • adjusted for specific gravity

He said most liquids are going to fall close to the specific gravity of water.

Examples

  • Locally available river sand (specific gravity of 2.5 and fineness modulus of 3) was used as fine aggregate.

    Academic text (2017)
  • He said most liquids are going to fall close to the specific gravity of water.

  • That should work out at about one fifth the specific gravity of steel.

  • In order for it to work properly, the sample being tested must have a specific gravity greater than that of deionized water.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Each liquid has a different specific gravity, allowing them to be carefully stacked without mixing.

    Blog text (23)
  • Each aggregate type had a specific gravity of 2.6 and an absorption of 1%.

    Academic text (2017)
  • If you are using a hydrometer to determine salinity, you must convert specific gravity to salinity.

    Academic text (1995)
  • For milk composition analysis, milk samples were collected weekly and were analyzed for fat, lactose, ash, protein, specific gravity, solids not fat, and total solids.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The specific gravity of a substance determines how dense it is compared to water.

  • To compare different liquids, we measured their specific gravity.

Synonyms

relative density
vsspecific gravity
  • Specialized
1 5.8

How heavy a substance is compared with the same volume of water or air

compares density specifically using water as the reference

Surface Forms

Morphology

specific + gravity

The components 'specific' (particular) and 'gravity' (heaviness/weight) yield a plausible notion of 'particular heaviness', so a B1 learner might guess the phrase concerns how heavy something is. However the established technical meaning — a precise ratio of a substance's density to water — is specialized and not fully predictable from the constituents without prior exposure; cross-linguistic equivalents exist but the precise ratio aspect makes it only partially transparent.

Etymology

The term specific gravity comes from a simple idea: specific means 'particular' and gravity means 'weight', so it literally names a way to compare how heavy a substance is to water. That's why specific gravity tells you whether something is heavier or lighter than water and whether it will sink or float.