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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.

Origin of carbon monoxide

First recorded in 1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for carbon monoxide

co

Examples from the Web for carbon monoxide

Contemporary Examples of carbon monoxide

  • His team of engineers set to work on a new device, a combination smoke and carbon-monoxide detector.

    The Daily Beast logo
    How to Hack the Perfect Home

    Daniel Gross

    November 15, 2013

  • For example, research has shown that most carbon-monoxide alarm incidents are triggered by a malfunctioning furnace.

    The Daily Beast logo
    How to Hack the Perfect Home

    Daniel Gross

    November 15, 2013

Historical Examples of carbon monoxide

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
Word Origin and History for carbon monoxide
n.

1869, so called because it consists of one carbon and one oxygen atom (as opposed to carbon dioxide, which has two of the latter). An older name for it was carbonic oxide gas.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
carbon monoxide in Medicine

carbon monoxide

n.

A colorless, odorless, highly poisonous gas that is formed by the incomplete combustion of carbon or of a carbonaceous material, such as gasoline.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
carbon monoxide in Science

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
carbon monoxide in Culture

carbon monoxide

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

Note

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

Note

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