sodium bicarbonate: Meaning and Definition of

so'dium bicar'bonate

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, in powder or granules, NaHCO, usually prepared by the reaction of soda ash with carbon dioxide or obtained from the intermediate product of the Solvay process by purification: used chiefly in the manufacture of sodium salts, baking powder, and beverages, as a laboratory reagent, as a fire extinguisher, and in medicine as an antacid. Also called