osmosis
noun /ɒzˈməʊsɪs/
/ɑːzˈməʊsɪs/
[uncountable]- (biology or chemistry) the slow steady passing of a liquid through a membrane (= a thin layer of material) as a result of there being different amounts of dissolved substances on either side of the membrane
- Water passes into the roots of a plant by osmosis.
- the process of gradually learning or being influenced by something, as a result of being in close contact with it
- As if by osmosis, the facts became clear over a period of time.
Word Originmid 19th cent.: Latinized form of earlier osmose, from Greek ōsmos ‘a push’.