DDT
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane: a potent synthetic insecticide, C14H9Cl5, initially developed in the 1940s to combat insect-borne human diseases and later found to be highly and adversely persistent in the environment: agricultural use now prohibited in many countries, including, since 1972, the United States.
Origin of DDT
1- Also called chlorophenothane .
Words Nearby DDT
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use DDT in a sentence
DDT, PCBs, and others have been shown to cause cancer, nervous system damage, and hormonal changes, according to Rochman.
The disease remains a global scourge despite rapid advances in providing insecticide nets and spraying homes, mostly with DDT.
Three years later, the property was covered in asphalt to prevent the DDT in the soil from being carried by the wind.
She never stopped us when we chased the mosquito man's truck as it blew a cloud of DDT into our smiling faces.
DDT, two pounds per 100 gallons of spray solution or a dust of one per cent.
Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Forty-Second Annual Meeting | Northern Nut Growers Association
Although some chickens had DDT tremors the next day, all appeared normal two days later.
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches | Louis M. RothDDT to control insects affecting man and animals in a tropical village.
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches | Louis M. Roth
British Dictionary definitions for DDT
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane; a colourless odourless substance used as an insecticide. It is toxic to animals and is known to accumulate in the tissues. It is now banned in the UK
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for DDT
[ dē′dē-tē′ ]
Short for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. A powerful insecticide that is also poisonous to humans and animals. It remains active in the environment for many years and has been banned in the United States for most uses since 1972 but is still in use in some countries in which malaria is endemic. Chemical formula: C14H9Cl5.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for DDT
A colorless insecticide that kills on contact. It is poisonous to humans and animals when swallowed or absorbed through the skin. DDT is an abbreviation for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane.
Notes for DDT
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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