carbon dioxide

[ kahr-buhn dahy-ok-sahyd ]

/ ˈkɑr bən daɪˈɒk saɪd /

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noun

a colorless, odorless, incombustible gas, CO2, present in the atmosphere and formed during respiration, usually obtained from coal, coke, or natural gas by combustion, from carbohydrates by fermentation, by reaction of acid with limestone or other carbonates, or naturally from springs: used extensively in industry as dry ice, or carbon dioxide snow, in carbonated beverages, fire extinguishers, etc.

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QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Also called carbonic-acid gas, car·bon·ic an·hy·dride

[kahr-bon-ik an-hahy-drahyd]. /kɑrˈbɒn ɪk ænˈhaɪ draɪd/.

Origin of carbon dioxide

First recorded in 1870–75

Words nearby carbon dioxide

carbon credit, carbon cycle, Carbondale, carbon-date, carbon dating, carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide snow, carbon disulfide, carbon disulphide, carbonette, carbon fiber

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use carbon dioxide in a sentence

She helped a winemaker protect the fermenting wines with carbon dioxide and dry ice, while firefighters managed to save the winery.
Sommeliers have been forced to pivot in the pandemic, and their futures remain uncertain|Dave McIntyre|February 4, 2021|Washington Post
Tilling exposes carbon from dead plants to oxygen in the air, creating carbon dioxide, which is the planet’s most troublesome climate-changing gas.
Farmers Want to Create San Diego’s Carbon Dumps|MacKenzie Elmer|February 3, 2021|Voice of San Diego
In the context of planetary science, this can mean water ice, or nitrogen, carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrogen, methane, sulfur dioxide—the ingredients for life.
We’re living in a golden age of sample return missions|Neel Patel|February 2, 2021|MIT Technology Review
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased by about 20 parts per million between roughly 4000 BCE and 1850 CE, she said.
Earth used to be cooler than we thought, which changes our math on global warming|Philip Kiefer|January 28, 2021|Popular-Science

If all 139 million households in the United States used efficiency measures to cut their heating and cooling costs by a third, the country would save almost 150 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
How to stop your house’s expensive drafts — and save the planet|Sarah Kaplan|January 27, 2021|Washington Post
It reacts very readily with oxygen by burning smokelessly, with carbon dioxide and water as its byproducts.
Methane on Mars: Life or Just Gas?|Matthew R. Francis|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Other psychiatrists attempted to treat schizophrenia with carbon dioxide gas and artificially-induced comas.
Schizophrenia Isn’t One Disorder but Eight|Samantha Allen|September 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The higher levels of carbon dioxide will induce something of a feeding frenzy for plants, at least for a while.
Blame Climate Change for Your Terrible Seasonal Allergies|Kent Sepkowitz|May 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“We are short of carbon dioxide for the needs of the plants,” Anderson said.
Fringe Factor: More Carbon Dioxide, Please|Caitlin Dickson|February 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
First they smell us, detecting molecules from bacteria on our skin and carbon dioxide from our breath.
Mosquitoes Love Some People More and Science Wants to Know Why|Josh Dzieza|August 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The primary purpose of respiration in all animals is the same—namely, to furnish oxygen and remove carbon dioxide (carbonic acid).
Voice Production in Singing and Speaking|Wesley Mills
If we collect enough of these bubbles of gas to make a test, we find it to be carbon dioxide.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
In previous experiments we have proved that carbon dioxide is given off by any living thing when oxidation occurs in the body.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
The plants give off oxygen to the animals, and the animals give carbon dioxide to the plants.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
The organs of respiration: the organs in which the blood receives oxygen and gives up carbon dioxide.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter

British Dictionary definitions for carbon dioxide

carbon dioxide

noun

a colourless odourless incombustible gas present in the atmosphere and formed during respiration, the decomposition and combustion of organic compounds, and in the reaction of acids with carbonates: used in carbonated drinks, fire extinguishers, and as dry ice for refrigeration. Formula: CO 2Also called: carbonic-acid gas

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 carbon dioxide

carbon dioxide

A colorless, odorless gas that is present in the atmosphere and is formed when any fuel containing carbon is burned. It is breathed out of an animal's lungs during respiration, is produced by the decay of organic matter, and is used by plants in photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is also used in refrigeration, fire extinguishers, and carbonated drinks. Chemical formula: CO2.

Cultural definitions for carbon dioxide

carbon dioxide

A compound made up of molecules containing one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.

notes for carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is normally found as a gas that is breathed out by animals and absorbed by green plants. The plants, in turn, return oxygen to the atmosphere. (See carbon cycle and respiration.)

notes for carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is also given off in the burning of fossil fuels (see greenhouse effect).

carbon dioxide

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Origin of carbon dioxide

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How to use carbon dioxide in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for carbon dioxide

Scientific definitions for carbon dioxide

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notes for carbon dioxide

notes for carbon dioxide