hydrogel

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noun

A colloid gel in which water is the continuous phase; they have a number of medical and industrial applications.

UncommonScrabble 16

Meanings

nounhydrogel (plural hydrogels)

plural hydrogels

  1. A colloid gel in which water is the continuous phase; they have a number of medical and industrial applications.
    1 more example

    The tough, bendable fabric combines hydrogels — such as those found in contact lenses or jello – with glass fibers. This particular combination maximizes its resilience, making the material 100 times tougher than hydrogels and 25 times tougher than glass fiber fabric, based on the amount of energy needed to destroy it. […] Gong believes the fiber-reinforced hydrogel could be used to create biomaterials, such as artificial organs and prostheses, able to endure everyday wear-and-tear.

    2017 July 16, Jenny Marc, Katy Scott, “Revolutionary gel is five times stronger than steel”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Jul 2025

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥
  3. Proto-Hellenic*údōr
  4. Ancient Greekῡ̆̔́δωρ (hū̆́dōr)
  5. Ancient Greekῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-)
  6. Englishhydro-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*gel-
  8. Latingelū
  9. Latingelāre
  10. Italiangelare
  11. Italiangelatina
  12. Frenchgélatine
  13. Englishgelatinclip.
  14. Englishgel
  15. Englishhydrogel

From hydro- + gel.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

hydrogel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hydrogel

MLA

“hydrogel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hydrogel. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hydrogel,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hydrogel.

Source: hydrogel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.