hydrogen cyanide

noun

1. a colorless poisonous gas, HCN, having a bitter almondlike odor: in aqueous solution it forms hydrocyanic acid.

hydrogen cyanide

noun

1. Also called: hydrocyanic acid. a colourless poisonous liquid with a faint odour of bitter almonds, usually made by a catalysed reaction between ammonia, oxygen, and methane. It forms prussic acid in aqueous solution and is used for making plastics and dyes and as a war gas. Formula: HCN

hydrogen cyanide

1. A colorless, flammable, extremely poisonous liquid. Salts derived from it have many industrial uses, such as hardening iron and steel, extracting metals from ores, electroplating metallic surfaces, and making acrylonitrile, from which acrylic fibers and plastics are produced. It is also used to make dyes and poisons. A solution of hydrogen cyanide in water forms a colorless acid called hydrocyanic acid. Chemical formula: HCN.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hydrogen cyanide¹

First recorded in 1880–85