What does trituration mean?
Trituration is the technical term for the process of rubbing, grinding, or pulverizing a substance into a fine powder. The best-known application is pharmaceutical: a pharmacist may triturate a drug compound in a mortar with a pestle, producing a uniform powder suitable for measuring, mixing, or further processing. The same operation is performed more broadly in chemistry and materials science when solid material must be reduced to fine particles. Trituration differs from the similar laboratory term titration, which determines concentration through a chemical reaction rather than physical grinding. Though uncommon in general conversation, the word is useful because it names precisely the mechanical operation that turns a solid into a fine powder. Its formal, specialized character also distinguishes it from more general expressions such as “grinding,” “crushing,” and “powdering.”
nounThe process of rubbing, grinding, or pulverizing a substance to reduce it to a fine powder, especially by working it in a mortar with a pestle.
- The process of finely grinding or pulverizing a substance, especially a drug or chemical compound, by rubbing it in a mortar with a pestle.
- More generally, the process of reducing a material to powder or very small particles by mechanical means.
"The pharmacist completed the trituration of the compound until the powder was uniformly fine."
"The pharmacist completed the trituration of the compound until the powder was uniformly fine."
"Mechanical trituration of the mineral produced a powder suitable for further analysis."
The plural is used when referring to separate instances of the process.
"Repeated triturations produced progressively finer powders."
Say “trituration” and picture a pharmacist turning a stubborn crystal into an impalpable powder with a mortar and pestle.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does trituration come from?
The English word derives from Latin triturationem, a noun formed from triturare, “to grind” or “rub.” The Latin verb in turn comes from terere, “to rub, grind, or wear down,” the same root found in words such as attrition and contrition. English borrowed the term for the practice of reducing substances to a fine powder.
How trituration is actually used
Trituration is chiefly a technical term used in pharmacy, chemistry, and materials science. It is more formal than everyday words such as “grinding” or “powdering” and emphasizes deliberate reduction to a fine or uniform material.
Easily confused with trituration
Trituration is the physical grinding of a substance into a fine powder, whereas titration is the chemical determination of a solution's concentration by adding a reagent until a specified reaction occurs.