Alkali

n. soluble base, any of a class of bases which neutralize acids to form salts (Chemistry)

"Alkaline" redirects here. For the power cell, see Alkaline battery. For other uses of the word "alkali" see Alkali (disambiguation).In chemistry, an alkali (from Arabic: Al-Qalyالقلي, القالي ) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Alkalis are best known for being bases (compounds with pH greater than 7) that dissolve in water. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base, especially for soluble bases. This broad use of the term is likely because alkalis were the first bases known to obey the Arrhenius definition of a base and are still among the more common bases. Since Brønsted-Lowry acid-base theory, the term alkali in chemistry is normally restricted to those salts containing alkali and alkaline earth metal elements.
See more at Wikipedia.org...

Noun
1. any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water; "bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia"
(synonym) base
(hypernym) compound, chemical compound
(hyponym) pyridine
(derivation) alkalize, alkalise, alkalify, basify
2. a mixture of soluble salts found in arid soils and some bodies of water; detrimental to agriculture
(hypernym) salt
(derivation) alkalize, alkalise, alkalify, basify

n. alkali, any of a number of bases which neutralize acids (Chemistry)

adj. alkali, soluble base, any of a class of bases which neutralize acids to form salts (Chemistry)