carbon tetrachloride

American  

noun

1. a colorless, nonflammable, vaporous, toxic liquid, CCl 4 , usually produced by the reaction of chlorine with carbon disulfide, methane, or other carbon-containing compounds: used mainly as a refrigerant, fire extinguisher, cleaning fluid, solvent, and insecticide.

---

carbon tetrachloride British  

noun

1. a colourless volatile nonflammable sparingly soluble liquid made from chlorine and carbon disulphide; tetrachloromethane. It is used as a solvent, cleaning fluid, and insecticide. Formula: CCl 4

---

carbon tetrachloride Scientific  

1. A colorless, nonflammable, poisonous liquid having a strong odor. It is used to make refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and pharmaceuticals. It is also used in petroleum refining and as a solvent. Until the mid-1960s, it was used as a cleaning fluid and in fire extinguishers. Chemical formula: CCl ₄ .

---

Etymology

Origin of carbon tetrachloride

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carbon tetrachloride

Similar patterns appeared in mice with liver fibrosis caused by carbon tetrachloride exposure.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 6, 2026

The agency moved to ban asbestos last year and has also proposed banning methylene chloride, perchloroethylene and carbon tetrachloride.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2023

That includes the likely next up, perchloroethylene, a solvent used for cleaning and degreasing, and carbon tetrachloride, another solvent that is commonly used to produce other chemicals such as refrigerants.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2023

Write the Lewis structures for carbon tetrachloride and phosgene.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019

A mixture of the vapors of carbon tetrachloride and fluorine inflames spontaneously with detonation, and chlorine is liberated without deposition of carbon.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 832, December 12, 1891 by Various