What is "covalence"

alt. 1 (context chemistry English) A form of valence in which electrons are shared between participating atoms 2 (context chemistry English) The number of electrons that a particular atom can share (and therefore the number of covalent bonds it can form) n. 1 (context chemistry English) A form of valence in which electrons are shared between participating atoms 2 (context chemistry English) The number of electrons that a particular atom can share (and therefore the number of covalent bonds it can form)

n. valence characterized by the sharing of electrons in a chemical compound; the number of pairs of electrons an atom can share [syn: covalency]