What does sublime mean?

Sublimation is a form of state transition or phase change. It is the process where a solid changes states and turns directly into gas without passing through a liquid state.

Dry ice is a good example of a substance that undergoes sublimation. We can watch a chunk of the white solid "disappear" without liquefying.

Another example: Under certain conditions, snow on the ground will seem to slowly disappear as it changes directly into water vapor, bypassing the liquid phase.

In lower grades it is sometimes accepted that sublimation can also be when a gas turns straight into a solid without going through a liquid state but that transition is formally known as deposition. You can remember this by saying solid-gas sublimation because they both start with s!

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