bleaching powder

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white powder that decomposes on contact with water and has the characteristic odor of gaseous chlorine: regarded, when dry, as a mixed calcium hypochlorite-chloride, used as a commercial bleach for wood pulp, textiles, oils, and soaps, and in laundering as a decolorizer and disinfectant.

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bleaching powder British  

noun

1. Also called: chloride of lime.   chlorinated lime.  a white powder with the odour of chlorine, consisting of chlorinated calcium hydroxide with an approximate formula CaCl(OCl).4H 2 O. It is used in solution as a bleaching agent and disinfectant

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Etymology

Origin of bleaching powder

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

According to eyewitnesses, the chemical warehouse stored bleaching powder, plastic and hydrogen peroxide, all of which can intensify fires.

From BBC

The federal government has sent tonnes of emergency drugs and bleaching powder, besides supplying tablets for water purification, though J.P.

From Reuters

In 2011, the discovery of sprouts drenched in hormones, bleaching powder and preservatives in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, resulted in the arrests of 12 people.

From New York Times

The bleaching powder and lye sprinkled around those pits and other spots to prevent insects from breeding seems, to the naked eye, to be doing the job.

From Time

Chemistry again went to work, and finally obtained the chloride of lime, which is the universal bleaching powder of modern manufactures.

From Project Gutenberg