Definition of "borax" [bo•rax]

• A hydrated sodium borate, Na2B4O7·10H2O, an ore of boron, that is used as a cleaning compound. (noun)
• An anhydrous sodium borate used in the manufacture of glass and various ceramics. (noun)
• Cheap merchandise, especially tasteless furnishings: "today's glinty borax” ( New Yorker). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "_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.”"