Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, numerically equal to 7 for neutral solutions, increasing with increasing alkalinity and decreasing with increasing acidity. The pH scale commonly in use ranges from 0 to 14.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • abbreviation chemistry The negative of the logarithm to the base 10 of the concentration of hydrogen ions, measured in moles per liter; a measure of acidity or alkalinity of a substance, which takes numerical values from 0 (maximum acidity) through 7 (neutral) to 14 (maximum alkalinity).
  • noun metrology Symbol for the picohenry, an SI unit of electrical inductance equal to 10−12 henrys.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[p(otential of) h(ydrogen).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From p, denoting negative logarithm, and H, denoting hydrogen.

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Examples

  • The term pH is a convenient way to express the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in an aqueous solution.

    PH 2006

  • And if the pH is above 3.3, it moves to Medium Sweet, and if the pH is as low as 2.9 or lower, the wine moves to Dry.

    Rants 2009

  • And if the pH is above 3.3, it moves to Medium Sweet, and if the pH is as low as 2.9 or lower, the wine moves to Dry.

    International Riesling Foundation: What's the Point? 2008

  • And if the pH is above 3.3, it moves to Medium Sweet, and if the pH is as low as 2.9 or lower, the wine moves to Dry.

    LENNDEVOURS: 2008

  • But if the pH is 3.3 or 3.4, it moves up to Medium Dry.

    Rants 2009

  • And if the pH is 2.8 or below (highly unlikely), the wine could be called Dry.

    Rants 2009

  • In regular soap, fats or oils are boiled with an alkali agent, such as lye or wood-ash, and the resulting mess which comes from this combination of heat and pH is a solid substance with a curious molecular makeup.

    Archive 2009-06-01 Heather McDougal 2009

  • If your soil pH is adequate (7.0 to 7.5) Alfalfa can work as it will root quite deeply given adequate soil (read deep) prep and proper pH.

    FoodPlot Choices 2009

  • In regular soap, fats or oils are boiled with an alkali agent, such as lye or wood-ash, and the resulting mess which comes from this combination of heat and pH is a solid substance with a curious molecular makeup.

    A Bit of Soap Heather McDougal 2009

  • Ratio above 4.1, but using the pH adjustment, a sweeter wine with a ratio of, say, 4.4 might actually be moved to Medium Sweet if the pH is significantly lower.

    Rants 2009

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