Phrase guide

molecular formula

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in one molecule of a substance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

Examples

  • The molecular formula for ethane is C2H6, while the empirical formula is CH3.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a chemical formula based on analysis and molecular weight

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: formula, chemical formula

Narrower terms: structural formula

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Cantonese: 分子式 (fan6 zi2 sik1) — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Chinese Mandarin: 分子式 (fēnzǐshì) — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Czech: sumární vzorec — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Czech: molekulární vzorec — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Danish: sumformel — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Danish: bruttoformel — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Finnish: molekyylikaava — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • French: formule moléculaire — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Galician: fórmula química — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Georgian: მოლეკულური ფორმულა (moleḳuluri pormula) — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • German: Summenformel — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • German: Bruttoformel — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Greek: μοριακός τύπος (moriakós týpos) — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Hungarian: molekulaképlet — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Japanese: 分子式 (bunshishiki) — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Korean: 분자식 (bunjasik) — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Māori: tātai matū — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Polish: wzór sumaryczny — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Portuguese: fórmula química — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Romanian: formulă moleculară — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Russian: молекуля́рная фо́рмула (molekuljárnaja fórmula) — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Spanish: fórmula química — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Swedish: molekylärformel — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Tagalog: mulatling sanyo — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Vietnamese: công thức phân tử — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule
  • Welsh: fformiwla foleciwlaidd — a notation indicating the number of atoms of each element present in a molecule