substrate

/ˈsʌbstreɪt/
noun
  1. A surface or material on which something grows, lives, or is attached.
    • In the aquarium, gravel serves as the substrate for the plants to root in.
    • The artist applied paint to a wooden substrate before adding the final details.
    • The coral needs a hard substrate like rock to attach itself to the ocean floor.
  2. The base layer or underlying substance that supports something, especially in technology or manufacturing.
    • In electronics, a silicon substrate is used to build microchips.
    • Solar panels are made by placing photovoltaic cells on a glass substrate.
    • The printer deposits ink onto a paper substrate to create the image.
  3. A substance that is acted upon by an enzyme in a chemical reaction.
    • The enzyme lactase breaks down the substrate lactose into simpler sugars.
    • Each enzyme is specific to a particular substrate that it helps to transform.
    • In the lab, we added the substrate to the enzyme solution to observe the reaction.
What does "substrate" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean