adsorb

UK: /ədˈsɔːb/ US: (ad sôrb′, -zôrb′)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ad•sorb  (ad sôrb′, -zôrb′), v.t. [Physical Chem.]

1. Chemistry to gather (a gas, liquid, or dissolved substance) on a surface in a condensed layer:
   Charcoal will adsorb gases.

• 1880–85; ad- + (ab)sorb

ad•sorb′a•ble, adj. 
ad•sorb′a•bil′i•ty, n. 
ad•sorb′ent, adj., n. 
ad•sorp•tion  (ad sôrp′shən, -zôrp′-), n.  ad•sorp′tive, adj. 
ad•sorp′tive•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

adsorb / ədˈsɔːb -ˈzɔːb/ verb

1. to undergo or cause to undergo a process in which a substance, usually a gas, accumulates on the surface of a solid forming a thin film, often only one molecule thick
   Compare absorb8

Etymology: 19th Century: ad- + -sorb as in absorb

adˈsorbable adjective

adˈsorption noun