from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. A hydrated sodium borate, Na2B4O7·10H2O, an ore of boron, that is used as a cleaning compound.
- n. An anhydrous sodium borate used in the manufacture of glass and various ceramics.
- n. Cheap merchandise, especially tasteless furnishings: "today's glinty borax” ( New Yorker).
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. A white or gray/grey crystalline salt, with a slight alkaline taste, used as a flux, in soldering metals, making enamels, fixing colors/colours on porcelain, and as a soap, etc.
- n. The sodium salt of boric acid, Na2B4O7, either anhydrous or with 5 or 10 molecules of water of crystallisation; sodium tetraborate.
- adj. Cheap or tawdry, referring to furniture or other works of industrial design.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. A white or gray crystalline salt, with a slight alkaline taste, used as a flux, in soldering metals, making enamels, fixing colors on porcelain, and as a soap. It occurs native in certain mineral springs, and is made from the boric acid of hot springs in Tuscany. It was originally obtained from a lake in Thibet, and was sent to Europe under the name of tincal. Borax is a pyroborate or tetraborate of sodium, Na2B4O7.10H2O.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Sodium tetraborate or pyroborate, Na2B4O7 + 10H2O, a salt formed by the union of boracic acid and soda.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. an ore of boron consisting of hydrated sodium borate; used as a flux or cleansing agent
_fused_ or _dried borax_ may be used, in which case a little more than half the amount of borax indicated will suffice.
Commercially the term borax is sometimes applied to all these materials.
Fenton, writing in 1569, says, “There is found in the heads of old and great toads a stone which they call borax or stelon; it is most commonly found in the head of a he-toad.”
Borax (Borateem) diluted in ½ cup Water (borax is found in the laundry detergent aisle)
You have to be very careful with visitors with small children and pets, for borax is toxic.
Plain borax dissolved in warm water does wonders for removing stains and odors (including pet smells!) from carpet and upholstery.
The commonest flux is simply a pure calcined borax powder, that is, a borax powder that has been heated until practically all the water has been driven off.
The natural borates are used in the preparation of borax, which is largely employed as a preservative agent, for fluxing, and for other purposes.
He has managed to name borax, fluorides, chromium and iron salts among those found in the wood in higher amounts.
Sodium borate, a boric acid salt also known as borax, has many common uses.