(1) Of a compound:

For Brønsted acids it means the tendency of a compound to act as a hydron donor. It can be quantitatively expressed by the acid dissociation constant of the compound in water or some other specified medium. For Lewis acids it relates to the association constants of Lewis adducts and π-adducts.

(2) Of a medium:

The use of the term is mainly restricted to a medium containing Brønsted acids, where it means the tendency of the medium to hydronate a specific reference base. It is quantitatively expressed by the appropriate acidity function.