What does hydrolysis mean in organic chemistry?

Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry. Hydrolysis: A reaction in which water is a reactant, and becomes part of the reaction product. Hydrolysis of tert-butyl chloride gives tert-butanol, a tertiary alcohol. This reaction follows an SN1 mechanism. Acid-catalyzed ester hydrolysis gives a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. read more

Often, as is mentioned in another answer, either an acid or a base catalyst is required, but that is not part of the definition of hydrolysis. The most typical organic functional groups that are subject to hydrolysis are esters, amides, and nitriles. read more

Hydrolysis may be considered the reverse of a condensation reaction, in which two molecules combine with each other, producing water as one of the products. The general formula of a hydrolysis reaction is: AB + H 2 O → AH + BOH Organic hydrolysis reactions involve the reaction of water and a ester. read more

Hydrolysis is a special type of nucleophilic substitution where water acts as both nucleophile and a solvent molecule. Note me omitting the $\mathrm{S_N1}$ part. This is because a hydrolysis mechanism can be any nucleophilic substitution, whether $\mathrm{S_N1, S_N2, S_N}$ for heavy atoms or $\mathrm{S_NAr}$. read more