carbon tetrachloride

American  

noun

1. a colorless, nonflammable, vaporous, toxic liquid, CCl 4 , usually produced by the reaction of chlorine with carbon disulfide, methane, or other carbon-containing compounds: used mainly as a refrigerant, fire extinguisher, cleaning fluid, solvent, and insecticide.

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carbon tetrachloride British  

noun

1. a colourless volatile nonflammable sparingly soluble liquid made from chlorine and carbon disulphide; tetrachloromethane. It is used as a solvent, cleaning fluid, and insecticide. Formula: CCl 4

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carbon tetrachloride Scientific  

1. A colorless, nonflammable, poisonous liquid having a strong odor. It is used to make refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and pharmaceuticals. It is also used in petroleum refining and as a solvent. Until the mid-1960s, it was used as a cleaning fluid and in fire extinguishers. Chemical formula: CCl ₄ .

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Etymology

Origin of carbon tetrachloride

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Similar patterns appeared in mice with liver fibrosis caused by carbon tetrachloride exposure.

From Science Daily

The agency moved to ban asbestos last year and has also proposed banning methylene chloride, perchloroethylene and carbon tetrachloride.

From Seattle Times

That includes the likely next up, perchloroethylene, a solvent used for cleaning and degreasing, and carbon tetrachloride, another solvent that is commonly used to produce other chemicals such as refrigerants.

From Washington Post

The munition, which combined powdered zinc and carbon tetrachloride to generate opaque clouds of molten zinc chloride smoke, was intended to obscure troop movements, not for crowd control.

From Salon

The presence of carbon tetrachloride suggests Russia has not stamped out illegal trade in the chemical, five oil industry sources said.

From Reuters