adhesion

adhesion — noun

1. the way one surface joins firmly to another and stays held in place — for exampl

1.nounC1
Definition

the way one surface joins firmly to another and stays held in place — for example, paint clinging to a wall, or a sticker pressed onto glass.

Example

Anaya wiped the wood with alcohol to improve the adhesion of the new label.

adhesion of [N] (the thing that sticks)

Poor adhesion between the tile and the floor caused several pieces to lift after a month.

adhesion between [N] and [N]

Common collocations
  • strong adhesion
  • poor adhesion
  • improve adhesion
  • lose adhesion
  • test the adhesion
Synonyms
  • stickiness

    everyday word for the same property; less technical than adhesion

  • bonding

    focuses on the act of forming the connection rather than the resulting hold

  • grip

    physical hold of one surface on another, often used about tyres or shoes

Antonyms
  • separation

    the surfaces coming apart instead of holding together

Grammar Patterns

adhesion of [N] to [N]

adhesion between [N] and [N]

Usage Note

Almost always uncountable. Subject of the noun is typically a material, coating, or contact surface; pair it with prepositions 'of' (the sticking thing), 'to' (the surface it sticks onto), or 'between' (two surfaces). Common in technical writing about glue, paint, tape, tissue, and tyres.

Common Mistakes

The glue has many adhesions.
The glue has strong adhesion.
adhesion is uncountable in this sense; do not pluralise.
The label has good adhesion with the bottle.
The label has good adhesion to the bottle.
use 'to' for the surface being stuck onto, not 'with'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe one thing holding to another, but they live in different registers. 'Adhesion' is the technical term and shows up in writing about paint, glue, tape, and tyres — it names a measurable property. 'Adherence' shares the same Latin root but in modern English usually means following a rule or plan ('adherence to safety guidelines'); it sounds odd if you use it for glue. 'Stickiness' is the plain everyday word a learner can safely use in conversation, as in 'the stickiness of the tape surprised me'. 'Bonding' stresses the process by which two materials become joined, often through chemistry or heat, rather than how firmly they stay together afterwards. Pick adhesion when writing a product spec, stickiness when chatting at home.

adhesion ↗adherence ↗stickinessbonding

Common collocations

Nouns

  • adhesion strength
  • adhesion test
  • adhesion failure

Phrases

  • lose adhesion
  • improve adhesion
  • promote adhesion

Prepositions

  • adhesion to
  • adhesion between
  • adhesion of

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Adhesion entered English in the early 1600s from French 'adhésion', which came from Latin 'adhaesio', a noun built on the verb 'adhaerere' meaning to stick to. The Latin verb is itself a compound of 'ad-' (to, toward) plus 'haerere' (to cling, to stick), the same root that gives English 'cohesion' and 'inherent'. Early English use was abstract — sticking to an idea or a party — and the physical sense for materials and surfaces grew alongside science writing in the 1700s.