solution
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An answer to a problem, or a liquid with something mixed into it.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
suhlooshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
səˈluʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A statement that solves a problem or explains how to solve the problem
“They were trying to find a peaceful solution.”
A method for solving a problem
“The easy solution is to look it up in the handbook.”
An act, plan or other means, used or proposed, to solve a problem.
The successful action of solving a problem
physical chemistry
A homogeneous mixture of two or more substances; frequently (but not necessarily) a liquid solution
“He used a solution of peroxide and water.”
An answer to a problem.
verb
To treat with a solution.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A statement that solves a problem or explains how to solve the problem
Used this way, solution is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“They were trying to find a peaceful solution.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Statement / plannoun
“They were trying to find a peaceful solution.”
Method / successfulnoun
“The easy solution is to look it up in the handbook.”
Homogeneousnoun
“He used a solution of peroxide and water.”
More ways to use solution
- “He used a solution of peroxide and water.”noun
- “They were trying to find a peaceful solution.”noun
- “The easy solution is to look it up in the handbook.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A colloid that has a continuous liquid phase in which a solid is suspended in a liquid.
A liquid solution of copper sulfate and potassium tartrate and sodium hydroxide that is used to test for sugar in the urine.
The mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime from 1941 until 1945.
A solution used in staining bacteria by Gram's method.
The heat evolved or absorbed when one mole of a substance is dissolved in a large volume of a solvent.
A solution having the same osmotic pressure as blood.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: statement that solves a problem
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.