carbon monoxide

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noun

a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas, CO, that burns with a pale-blue flame, produced when carbon burns with insufficient air: used chiefly in organic synthesis, metallurgy, and in the preparation of metal carbonyls, as nickel carbonyl.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of carbon monoxide

First recorded in 1870–75

Words nearby carbon monoxide

carbonium ion, carbonization, carbonize, carbonless paper, carbon microphone, carbon monoxide, carbonnade, carbon nanotube, carbon neutral, carbon-nitrogen cycle, carbon offset

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

How to use carbon monoxide in a sentence

So I thought that I was maybe getting them from carbon monoxide exposure.
Danica Patrick on Why She Never Loved Racing and Her Post-Track Career|Joshua Eferighe|January 30, 2021|Ozy
The next most common gases were carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, followed by hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide and some more complex gases that this early version of the experiment didn’t identify.
Crushed space rocks hint at exoplanets’ early atmospheric makeup|Lisa Grossman|January 26, 2021|Science News
The fires produce nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and fine particles that can also help to increase ground-level ozone.
What the pandemic can teach us about ways to reduce air pollution|Carolyn Gramling|January 4, 2021|Science News
If a vehicle tail pipe becomes buried by snow, slush, mud or water, exhaust can back up into the vehicle cabin and cause death from carbon monoxide poisoning.
10 winter survival tips everyone should know|Tim MacWelch|December 15, 2020|Popular-Science

The heater will produce deadly carbon monoxide gas, so crack windows on both sides to provide ventilation.
How to survive a snowstorm from inside your truck|Keith McCafferty|November 25, 2020|Popular-Science
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
Methane (chemical formula CH4) is one of the simplest hydrocarbons, which literally means “containing hydrogen and carbon.”
Methane on Mars: Life or Just Gas?|Matthew R. Francis|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Al Gore, however, sold his Current TV channel to Al Jazeera, which is funded by the royal family of famously carbon neutral Qatar.
Up To A Point: What We Really Need Is a Nobel War Prize|P. J. O’Rourke|October 11, 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
And “stinking rich” is the smell of zero carbon emissions at eco-friendly tech company campuses.
Up To a Point: Robber Barons Make Way For Robber Nerds|P. J. O’Rourke|August 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What are a few paltry, lumps of crystallised carbon compared to a galaxy of a million million suns?
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
The carbon dioxid evolved distends the stomach, and its outline can easily be determined by percussion.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Carbon is the largest constituent of plants, and forms, in round numbers, about 50 per cent of their weight when dry.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
The particular phenomena of vegetation also afford abundant evidence that humus cannot be the only source of carbon.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
The composition of animal caseine differs from this principally in the amount of carbon.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for carbon monoxide

carbon monoxide

noun

a colourless odourless poisonous flammable gas formed when carbon compounds burn in insufficient air and produced by the action of steam on hot carbon: used as a reducing agent in metallurgy and as a fuel. Formula: CO

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 monoxide

carbon monoxide

A colorless, odorless gas formed when a compound containing carbon burns incompletely because there is not enough oxygen. It is present in the exhaust gases of automobile engines and is very poisonous. Chemical formula: CO.

Cultural definitions for carbon monoxide

carbon monoxide

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

notes for carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is usually formed when materials burn; it is found, for example, in automobile exhaust.

notes for carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can be fatal to human beings if inhaled.

carbon monoxide

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Origin of carbon monoxide

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British Dictionary definitions for carbon monoxide

Scientific definitions for carbon monoxide

Cultural definitions for carbon monoxide

notes for carbon monoxide

notes for carbon monoxide