cyanide Hear it!

cyanide definition

cya·nide (ə nīd′, -nid′)

noun

a substance composed of a cyanogen group in combination with some element or radical; esp., potassium cyanide, KCN, or sodium cyanide, NaCN, extremely poisonous, white, crystalline compounds with an odor of bitter almonds: used in extracting gold from low-grade ores, electroplating, etc.

Etymology: cyan(o)- + -ide

transitive verb cyanided -·nid′ed, cyaniding -·nid′·ing

to treat with cyanide

Comments


Do you have more to add? Sign in to share your linguistic knowledge or observation.

Connect with Facebook