Soxhlet extractor

/ˈsɒkslət ɪkˌstɹæktə/

noun

A piece of laboratory apparatus consisting of a glass reservoir that sits over a lower flask (containing a boiling solvent) and under a condenser; a sample contained in a paper thimble is placed in the reservoir and soluble materials are continually extracted by the warm solvent and transferred to the lower flask via a siphon.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounSoxhlet extractor (plural Soxhlet extractors)

plural Soxhlet extractors

  1. chemistryA piece of laboratory apparatus consisting of a glass reservoir that sits over a lower flask (containing a boiling solvent) and under a condenser; a sample contained in a paper thimble is placed in the reservoir and soluble materials are continually extracted by the warm solvent and transferred to the lower flask via a siphon.

    Amid a gleaming clutter of burners and spectroscopes, funnels and flasks, centrifugal and Soxhlet extractors […], serious girls with their hair in snoods entered numbers into log books

    2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 264

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
soxhlet apparatus

Origin

Invented in 1879 by Franz von Soxhlet.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Soxhlet extractor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Soxhlet%20extractor

MLA

“Soxhlet extractor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Soxhlet%20extractor. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Soxhlet extractor,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Soxhlet%20extractor.

Source: Soxhlet extractor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.