Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The remainder of something after removal of parts or a part.
  • noun Matter remaining after completion of an abstractive chemical or physical process, such as evaporation, combustion, distillation, or filtration; residuum.
  • noun The part of a monomer or other chemical unit that has been incorporated into a polymer or large molecule.
  • noun Law The remainder of a testator's estate after all specific bequests and applicable debts and expenses have been disposed of.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun That which remains after a part is taken, separated, removed, or dealt with in some other way; what is left over; remainder; the rest.
  • noun In law:
  • noun The residuum of a testator's estate after payment of debts and legacies.
  • noun That which remains of a testator's estate after payment of debts and particular legacies, and is undisposed of except it may be by a general clause or residuary legacy.
  • noun In the theory of numbers, the remainder after division, especially after division by a fixed modulus; in the integral calculus, the integral of a monodromic function taken round a pole or poles: same as residual, 2.
  • noun Synonyms Rest, etc. See remainder.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun That which remains after a part is taken, separated, removed, or designated; remnant; remainder.
  • noun (Law) That part of a testeator's estate wwhich is not disposed of in his will by particular and special legacies and devises, and which remains after payment of debts and legacies.
  • noun (Chem.) That which remains of a molecule after the removal of a portion of its constituents; hence, an atom or group regarded as a portion of a molecule; a moiety or group; -- used as nearly equivalent to radical, but in a more general sense.
  • noun (Theory of Numbers) Any positive or negative number that differs from a given number by a multiple of a given modulus.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Whatever remains after something else has been removed.
  • noun chemistry The substance that remains after evaporation, distillation, filtration or any similar process.
  • noun Whatever property or effects are left in an estate after payment of all debts, other charges and deduction of what is specifically bequeathed by the testator.
  • noun mathematics A form of complex number.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun something left after other parts have been taken away
  • noun matter that remains after something has been removed

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French residu, from Latin residuum, neuter of residuus, remaining, from residēre, to remain behind; see reside.]

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Examples

  • The presence of plastic residue is nothing more than an indication of possible doping.

    Alberto Contador won’t attend Tour de France presentation 2010

  • This is a peculiar approach to the work of fiction writers, as if the writer's brain residue has somehow been left on his words.

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  • Nearby, children fly kites in a field blanketed with ashen dust - residue from the floods.

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  • CNN: FDA says residue is frog or toad; how did it get in Pepsi can?

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  • The Las Vegas Sun says it cost $80,000 to clear a no-smoking zone, replacing the carpet and wallpaper, even cleaning smoke residue from the slot machines.

    Casino, Starbucks Tackle Smoking, Alcohol 2010

  • If you let water stand and dry naturally, the floors will be dull, because there will be a slight residue from the water -- this is why the last polishing step is important.

    care for cement floors 2009

  • If you let water stand and dry naturally, the floors will be dull, because there will be a slight residue from the water -- this is why the last polishing step is important.

    care for cement floors 2009

  • If you let water stand and dry naturally, the floors will be dull, because there will be a slight residue from the water -- this is why the last polishing step is important.

    care for cement floors 2009

  • If you let water stand and dry naturally, the floors will be dull, because there will be a slight residue from the water -- this is why the last polishing step is important.

    care for cement floors 2009

  • The Las Vegas Sun says it cost $80,000 to clear a no-smoking zone, replacing the carpet and wallpaper, even cleaning smoke residue from the slot machines.

    Casino, Starbucks Tackle Smoking, Alcohol 2010

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