cyanide

[ sahy-uh-nahyd, -nid ]

noun

Also cy·a·nid [sahy-uh-nid]. /ˈsaɪ ə nɪd/. Chemistry.
- a salt of hydrocyanic acid, as potassium cyanide, KCN.
- a nitrile, as methyl cyanide, C2H3N.

verb (used with object),cy·a·nid·ed, cy·a·nid·ing.

to treat with a cyanide, as an ore in order to extract gold.

Origin of cyanide

1820–30; cyan-³ + -ide

Other words from cyanide

sub·cy·a·nid, noun
sub·cy·a·nide, noun

Words Nearby cyanide

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

How to use cyanide in a sentence

Some were injected with cyanide involuntarily, including hundreds of children and senior citizens.
The Story of the Jonestown Massacre Is About Much More Than Jim Jones. We've Been Fighting to Tell It for Decades | Margo Hall | November 17, 2021 | Time
Cassava flour, which has been dried and pounded, has lost almost all of its cyanide content by the time it’s sold.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cassava | Sylvio Martins | October 29, 2021 | Eater
At least 50 percent of the root’s cyanide content is removed by boiling, and further reduced by other cooking methods like frying and baking.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cassava | Sylvio Martins | October 29, 2021 | Eater
Environmental groups are calling the “restoration” aspect of the plan fool’s gold, and also oppose the company’s intent to use cyanide to extract gold from the site at Salmon River, where there was a gold rush in the late 1800s.
Harnessing the Power of Gold | Sean Culligan | June 1, 2021 | Ozy
For example, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide — two chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems — are abundant in wildfire smoke.
This year’s SN 10 scientists aim to solve some of science’s biggest challenges | Science News Staff | September 30, 2020 | Science News

Nonetheless, Turing killed himself on June 7, 1954, in a deliberately prepared way, by eating a cyanide-laced apple.
The Castration of Alan Turing, Britain’s Code-Breaking WWII Hero | Clive Irving | November 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
An autopsy found highly toxic cyanide levels in the blood of the not-so-dearly departed.
Beware of Japan’s “Black Widows” | Jake Adelstein | November 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He opted for the latter, and two years later, took his own life by ingesting cyanide.
Oscar's Battle of the Brits: Pals Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne Vie for the Gold | Marlow Stern | September 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Two years later, at the age of 41, the war hero ended his own life with cyanide.
Benedict Cumberbatch on 'The Imitation Game,' Homophobia, and How to Combat ISIS | Marlow Stern | September 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Zyklon B, a gas used by the Nazis in the death camps, is a haunting example of the rapid lethality of one form, hydrogen cyanide.
Sarin, Nitrogen Mustard, Cyanide & More: All About Chemical Weapons | Kent Sepkowitz | August 26, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
On addition of potassium cyanide a transitory red color appeared which reappeared on shaking with air.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron) | William Anderson Syme
A portion was gently warmed with a few drops of a strong solution of potassium cyanide and two drops of sodium hydroxide.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron) | William Anderson Syme
To cleanse articles of silver, gold, bronze and brass use a saturated solution of cyanide of potassium.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | Various
As cyanide of potassium is a deadly poison, care must be taken not to have it touch any sore spot on the flesh.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | Various
Mercuric cyanide, as we have seen (p. 115), is exceptional in its exceedingly small capacity for ionization.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2. | Julius Stieglitz

British Dictionary definitions for cyanide

cyanide

cyanid (ˈsaɪənɪd)

/ (ˈsaɪəˌnaɪd) /

noun

any salt of hydrocyanic acid. Cyanides contain the ion CN – and are extremely poisonous
another name (not in technical usage) for nitrile

Derived forms of cyanide

cyanidation, noun

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 cyanide

cyanide

[ sī′ə-nīd′ ]

Any of a large group of chemical compounds containing the radical CN, especially the very poisonous salts sodium cyanide and potassium cyanide. Cyanides are used to make plastics and to extract and treat metals.

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