cyanide
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
-
any salt of hydrocyanic acid. Cyanides contain the ion CN – and are extremely poisonous
-
another name (not in technical usage) for nitrile
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cyanide
1820–30; cyan- 3 + -ide ( def. )
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.
See Examples For:
Not only does the extraction of metals like gold involve large amounts of water, but it also uses cyanide and releases other pollutants, posing major environmental and health risks.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
"In 2006, nearly 2,000 residents suffered from vertigo, sight problems and nausea after it rained in Guney, with blood tests showing cyanide in their blood," he said.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
He said military personnel had spotted another Chinese sampan crew poisoning waters near the shoal last month, and that samples later tested positive for cyanide.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
After the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, a dozen residents had to be treated for cyanide poisoning.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
“It was cyanide enclosed in a rubber cover,” said Haukelid.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
Some carbon-containing compounds are not classified as organic, for example, carbonates and cyanides, and simple oxides, such as CO and CO2.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Opponents have particularly expressed concerns over the 57,000 tonnes of explosives, 46,500 tonnes of cyanides and 142m litres of fuel WWF estimated the company will use over the mine’s 12-year lifespan.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 27, 2018
And after the war, he used his know-how to develop pesticides - including that notorious group of nitrogen-based toxins, the cyanides.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2014
The defendants, accused of dumping acids, cyanides and metals into the rivers, are Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical Corp. and three top steel companies: U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
Huggins had found organic matter in the comets; in subsequent years cyanogen, CN, consisting of a carbon and a nitrogen atom, the molecular fragment that makes cyanides, was identified in the tails of comets.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Some 25,000 persons yearly visited the prefectural 12-chō experiment station, which within a year had distributed to farmers 7,600 cyanided fruit trees and 80 bushels of special seed rice.
From The Foundations of Japan Notes Made During Journeys Of 6,000 Miles In The Rural Districts As A Basis For A Sounder Knowledge Of The Japanese People by Scott, J.W. Robertson
In some cases the crushed ore straight from the crushing mill is cyanided, in others it is simply the remains left over from the previous amalgamating process which is thus treated.
From Marvels of Scientific Invention An Interesting Account in Non-technical Language of the Invention of Guns, Torpedoes, Submarine Mines, Up-to-date Smelting, Freezing, Colour Photography, and many other recent Discoveries of Science by Corbin, Thomas W.
With mercury, perhaps two or three more dollars' worth can be extracted, and another couple of dollars by cyaniding.
From The Boy With the U.S. Miners by Rolt-Wheeler, Francis
There are other chemical methods besides the cyaniding, but it is the chief.
From Marvels of Scientific Invention An Interesting Account in Non-technical Language of the Invention of Guns, Torpedoes, Submarine Mines, Up-to-date Smelting, Freezing, Colour Photography, and many other recent Discoveries of Science by Corbin, Thomas W.
The total cost per ton of ore treated is about 6s., of which the cyaniding costs from 2s. to 4s.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 2 "Gloss" to "Gordon, Charles George" by Various
The boys were deeply impressed as they looked down into the valley where the mining, milling, and cyaniding were going on.
From Frank Merriwell, Junior's, Golden Trail or, The Fugitive Professor by Standish, Burt L.
With its battery of 200 stamps and large cyaniding mills, it has a capacity for ore treatment of 20,000 tons per month.
From Mexico Its Ancient and Modern Civilisation, History, Political Conditions, Topography, Natural Resources, Industries and General Development by Hume, Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
