hydrogen cyanide

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noun

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

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Origin of hydrogen cyanide

First recorded in 1880–85

Words nearby hydrogen cyanide

hydrogen bomb, hydrogen bond, hydrogen bromide, hydrogen carbonate, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen electrode, hydrogen embrittlement, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen iodide, hydrogen ion

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

How to use hydrogen cyanide in a sentence

Methane (chemical formula CH4) is one of the simplest hydrocarbons, which literally means “containing hydrogen and carbon.”
Methane on Mars: Life or Just Gas?|Matthew R. Francis|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From that, they extracted the ratio of the number of deuterium atoms to the number of hydrogen atoms.
Are Comets the Origin of Earth’s Oceans?|Matthew R. Francis|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They found that there are roughly 1,900 hydrogen atoms for each deuterium atom in the water on Comet 67P.
Are Comets the Origin of Earth’s Oceans?|Matthew R. Francis|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen containing a proton and neutron in its nucleus, while normal hydrogen has only a proton.
Are Comets the Origin of Earth’s Oceans?|Matthew R. Francis|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
Hydrogen sulphid is easily prepared in the simple apparatus shown in Fig. 30.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
It is allowed to cool, and hydrogen sulphid gas is passed through it for about five minutes.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, but it cannot be formed by the direct union of these gases.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
One morning he found that the amount of hydrogen was scarcely perceptible; still there was water in the pit.
Black Diamonds|Mr Jkai
The older workman reassured them; the carbon was much heavier than oxygen, and even thicker than hydrogen.
Black Diamonds|Mr Jkai

British Dictionary definitions for hydrogen cyanide

hydrogen cyanide

noun

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: HCNAlso called: hydrocyanic acid

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 hydrogen cyanide

hydrogen cyanide

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.