What does catalyser mean?
A catalyser is, first, a substance that alters the rate of a chemical reaction while remaining unchanged overall; it can therefore make a reaction proceed more quickly without becoming part of the final product. In figurative use, a catalyser is a person, event, or thing that prompts a process or stimulates change, often by setting events in motion. The word is especially associated with British English, while catalyst is the usual American form and is also widely used in Britain. A catalyser may sound more formal or technical than a trigger, but it carries no necessary emotional colouring. The term is useful because it describes a way of enabling action rather than performing the whole task: the catalyser opens a route, and another process continues along it.
nounA substance that alters the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed overall; by extension, a person, event, or thing that stimulates a process or change.
- A person, event, or thing that stimulates a process or prompts change.
- A substance that alters the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed overall.
"The unexpected resignation became a powerful catalyser for reform across the organisation."
"The enzyme acted as a catalyser, allowing the reaction to proceed far more quickly."
"The unexpected resignation became a catalyser for reform across the organisation."
The standard plural adds -s; in British English, the related verb is usually written catalyses rather than catalysers.
"Several new catalysts were added to the reaction vessel."
A catalyser helps a reaction find a faster route; its Greek root, katalysis, means “release” or “dissolution.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does catalyser come from?
Catalyser is an English agent-noun formation from catalysis plus the suffix -er; in modern usage it is chiefly a British spelling. The chemical term catalysis was coined by Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1835. Its ultimate source is Greek katalysis, meaning “dissolution” or “release,” from kataluein, “to dissolve,” and is the source of catalyst, catalytic, and catalysis.
Related word forms
How catalyser is actually used
The noun is standard technical vocabulary in chemistry and is also common in formal figurative prose. Figuratively, it often denotes something that sets a process in motion without necessarily completing it.
Easily confused with catalyser
In British English, catalyst and catalyser are spelling variants of the same word; catalyst is the standard spelling in American English.
Catalyser is chiefly a noun naming an agent, whereas catalyse is the British verb meaning to speed up or stimulate a process.