ammonia

[ uh-mohn-yuh, uh-moh-nee-uh ]
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nounChemistry.
  1. a colorless, pungent, suffocating, highly water-soluble, gaseous compound, NH3, usually produced by the direct combination of nitrogen and hydrogen gases: used chiefly for refrigeration and in the manufacture of commercial chemicals and laboratory reagents.

  2. Also called aqueous ammonia, ammonia solution, ammonia water . this gas dissolved in water; ammonium hydroxide.

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Origin of ammonia

1
First recorded in 1790–1800; from New Latin, so called as being obtained from sal ammoniac; see ammoniac

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British Dictionary definitions for ammonia

ammonia

/ (əˈməʊnɪə, -njə) /


noun
  1. a colourless pungent highly soluble gas mainly used in the manufacture of fertilizers, nitric acid, and other nitrogenous compounds, and as a refrigerant and solvent. Formula: NH 3

  2. a solution of ammonia in water, containing the compound ammonium hydroxide

Origin of ammonia

1
C18: from New Latin, from Latin (sal) ammōniacus (sal) ammoniac 1

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 ammonia

ammonia

[ ə-mōn ]


  1. A colorless alkaline gas that is lighter than air and has a strongly pungent odor. It is used as a fertilizer and refrigerant, in medicine, and in making dyes, textiles, plastics, and explosives. Chemical formula: NH3.

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