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percolation

Other forms: percolations

Percolation is the process of a liquid slowly passing through a filter. It's how coffee is usually made.

Percolation comes from the Latin word percolare, which means "to strain through." Percolation happens when liquid is strained through a filter, like when someone makes coffee. Drinking coffee can make you feel perky! Perky comes from the word percolate, too, describing something that bubbles over. Percolation (a noun) is what happens when anything percolates. It’s usually coffee, but chemists use percolation for all kinds of experiments.

Definitions of percolation
  1. noun
    the slow passage of a liquid through a filtering medium
    “the percolation of rainwater through the soil”
    synonyms: infiltration
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    type of:
    filtration
    the process whereby fluids pass through a filter or a filtering medium
  2. noun
    the filtration of a liquid for extraction or purification
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    type of:
    filtration
    the act of changing a fluid by passing it through a filter
  3. noun
    the act of making coffee in a percolator
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    type of:
    cookery, cooking, preparation
    the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘percolation'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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