CS gas

British

noun

a gas causing tears, salivation, and painful breathing, used in civil disturbances; ortho- chlorobenzal malononitrile. Formula: C 6 H 4 ClCH:C(CN) 2

"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

Etymology

Origin of CS gas

C20: from the surname initials of its US inventors, Ben Carson and Roger Staughton

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He ruled out the likelihood of the symptoms being caused by more conventional crowd control measures, such as CS gas, which was also being deployed by Georgia's riot police last year.

From BBC • Nov. 30, 2025

He said that most of the chemical substances used in the attacks had been identified as CS gas, a tear gas most commonly used by riot police to control crowds.

From New York Times • May 2, 2024

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler barred the Portland Police Bureau from using CS gas, one kind of the toxic gas, in September 2020 after being criticized by residents about tear gas seeping into their homes.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 9, 2021

“We determined, and the MPD confirmed, that the MPD used CS gas on 17th Street,” the report states.

From Washington Times • Jun. 10, 2021

Monahan contends police were "specifically prohibited the use of CS gas on June 1."

From Fox News • Jul. 28, 2020

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