chloroacetic acid

American

noun

a colorless, crystalline, deliquescent, water-soluble powder, C 2 H 3 ClO 2 , usually derived from acetic acid by chlorination: used chiefly in the manufacture of dyes and other organic compounds.

chloroacetic acid British

/ ˌklɔːrəˈsiːtɪk, ˌklɔːrəʊəˈsiːtɪk /

noun

a colourless crystalline soluble strong acid prepared by chlorinating acetic acid and used as an intermediate in the manufacture of many chemicals; monochloracetic acid. Formula: CH 2 ClCOOH
either of two related compounds: dichloracetic acid, CHCl 2 COOH, or trichloracetic acid CCl 3 COOH

"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

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The caffeine is not extracted from natural plant products such as coffee or tea, but assembled from chemical precursors including urea and chloroacetic acid.

From Washington Post

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023