Meaning of 'equivalent' (Webster Dictionary)
- Equal in wortir or value, force, power, effect, import,
and the like; alike in significance and value; of the same import or
meaning.
- Equal in measure but not admitting of superposition; --
applied to magnitudes; as, a square may be equivalent to a triangle.
- Contemporaneous in origin; as, the equivalent strata of
different countries.
- Something equivalent; that which is equal in value,
worth, weight, or force; as, to offer an equivalent for damage done.
- That comparative quantity by weight of an element which
possesses the same chemical value as other elements, as determined by
actual experiment and reference to the same standard. Specifically: (a)
The comparative proportions by which one element replaces another in
any particular compound; thus, as zinc replaces hydrogen in
hydrochloric acid, their equivalents are 32.5 and 1. (b) The combining
proportion by weight of a substance, or the number expressing this
proportion, in any particular compound; as, the equivalents of hydrogen
and oxygen in water are respectively 1 and 8, and in hydric dioxide 1
and 16.
- A combining unit, whether an atom, a radical, or a
molecule; as, in acid salt two or more equivalents of acid unite with
one or more equivalents of base.
- To make the equivalent to; to equal; equivalence.
Meaning of 'equivalent' (Princeton's WordNet)
Meaning (1):
- a person or thing equal to another in value or measure or force or effect or significance etc
Example in sentence:- send two dollars or the equivalent in stamps
Meaning (2):
- being essentially equal to something
Example in sentence:- a wish that was equivalent to a command;
- his statement was tantamount to an admission of guilt;
- it was as good as gold
Definition
[ a.]