catalyst
nounUK /ˈkæt.ɪ.lɪst/ · AU, CA, US /ˈkæt.ə.lɪst/
Etymology From catalysis + -ist.
1
Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process.
- Enzymes, the catalysts of biological systems, are remarkable molecular devices that determine the pattern of chemical transformations.1988, Lubert Stryer, Biochemistry, 3rd edition, page 177:
2
Figuratively Something that encourages progress or change.
- (obsolete)
- Economic development and integration are working as a catalyst for peace.
4 more examples
- It was a morning baptized by my first cup of coffee, freshly brewed over a gravel-bar fire, while they celebrated with the stronger catalyst of sour-mash whiskey in their fishing-vest cups.1978, Ernest George Schwiebert, Trout, volume 2:
- Israel's fear for the reactor—rather than Egypt's of it—was the greater catalyst for war.2004, Michael B. Oren, Six Days of War: June 1967 and the making of the modern Middle East, page 76:
- Rosa Parks was a true catalyst for change and she was only one person. Hearing about Rosa Parks and her protest showed me that there is hope for me and all the students in Ms. G's classes to truly be catalysts for change.2006, The Freedom Writers, with Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them, Diary 74
- He [countertenor Anthony Roth Constanzo] also enjoys being the catalyst whereby opera fertilises other art forms: recently, he's collaborated with Japanese kabuki actors, and a project with dancers from New York City Ballet is in the offing.2014 August 8, Rupert Christiansen, “The truth about falsettos [print version: 12 August 2014, p. R8]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review):
3
Literature, Media, Publishing An inciting incident that sets the successive conflict into motion.
- The current view by both Labour and Conservative politicians is that the state of the UK railway is unsustainable, and the pandemic acted as a catalyst in exposing its weaknesses.2023 May 31, Tammy Samuel, Fergus McLaverty, “The political picture: what lies ahead for Britain's railways?”, in RAIL, number 984, page 31:
4
Automotive, Transport, Vehicles A catalytic converter.
5
Fantasy An object that facilitates the casting of a spell (such as a magic wand).
- Derived terms
- Adams's catalyst, catalyse, catalyze, catalysis, catalytic, Grubbs' catalyst, Lindlar catalyst, phase-transfer catalyst, stereospecific catalyst, triphase catalyst, Vandenberg catalyst, Ziegler catalyst, Ziegler-Natta catalyst
- Related terms
- enzyme