polysorbate

P3O1L1Y4S1O1R1B3A1T1E1

noun

Any of a class of emulsifiers used as food additives and in pharmaceutical preparations; they are derived from sorbitan (typically with three polyoxyethylene side-chains) esterified with a fatty acid; they are mostly oily liquids, or soft solids.

Similar
E432 - polysorbate 20E433 - polysorbate 80E434 - polysorbate 40E435 - polysorbate 60E436 - polysorbate 65Tween™ nn
OriginEnglish sorbate ← Ancient Greek πολῠ́ς (polŭ́s) ← Proto-Indo-European *polh₁ús →
UncommonScrabble 18
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Meanings

nounpolysorbate (plural polysorbates)

plural polysorbates

  1. chemistryAny of a class of emulsifiers used as food additives and in pharmaceutical preparations; they are derived from sorbitan (typically with three polyoxyethylene side-chains) esterified with a fatty acid; they are mostly oily liquids, or soft solids.

    Synonyms: E432 - polysorbate 20, E433 - polysorbate 80, E434 - polysorbate 40, E435 - polysorbate 60, E436 - polysorbate 65, Tween™ nn

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAny of a class of emulsifiers used as food additives and in pharmaceutical preparations; they are derived from sorbitan (typically with three polyoxyethylene side-chains) esterified with a fatty acid; they are mostly oily liquids, or soft solids.

Similar
E432 - polysorbate 20E433 - polysorbate 80E434 - polysorbate 40E435 - polysorbate 60E436 - polysorbate 65Tween™ nn

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*polh₁ús
  3. Ancient Greekπολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)
  4. Englishpoly-
  5. Englishsorbate
  6. Englishpolysorbate

From poly- + sorbate.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish polysorbaatti
  • polysorbaattiTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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