nicotine

American  

[nik-uh-teen, -tin, nik-uh-teen] / ˈnɪk əˌtin, -tɪn, ˌnɪk əˈtin /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a colorless, oily, water-soluble, highly toxic, liquid alkaloid, C 1 0 H 1 4 N 2 , found in tobacco and valued as an insecticide.

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nicotine British  

/ ˈnɪkəˌtiːn /

noun

1. a colourless oily acrid toxic liquid that turns yellowish-brown in air and light: the principal alkaloid in tobacco, used as an agricultural insecticide. Formula: C 10 H 14 N 2

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nicotine Scientific  

/ nĭk′ə-tēn′ /

1. A colorless, poisonous compound occurring naturally in the tobacco plant. It is used in medicine and as an insecticide, and it is the substance in tobacco products to which smokers can become addicted. Nicotine is an alkaloid. Chemical formula: C ₁₀ H ₁₄ N ₂ .

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nicotine Cultural  

1. A poisonous chemical substance found in the tobacco plant.

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Other Word Forms

• nicotined
  adjective
• nicotineless
  adjective
• nicotinic
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of nicotine

From French, dating back to 1810–20; see origin at nicotiana, -ine ²

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Explanation

Nicotine is a drug that's present in tobacco. People who are addicted to cigarettes are really hooked on nicotine. Nicotine is most commonly known for occurring in tobacco, and therefore in cigarettes. In small amounts, nicotine is a stimulant, although in larger quantities it's considered a poison and is even used in many insecticides. The earliest French root of the word was nicotiane, which comes from the Modern Latin botanical term for the tobacco plant, Nicotiana, named for Jean Nicot, the French ambassador who first brought tobacco from Brazil to France in 1561.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nicotine

She writes that nicotine activates the body’s fight-or-flight response, increases heart rate and blood pressure and can disrupt sleep.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Smokers who want to quit have the best chance of doing so if they use nicotine e-cigarettes, a review has found.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

"We need to keep pace with a rapidly evolving market and continue to take action to protect children from nicotine products."

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

This has made it difficult to capture consumers who were switching from cigarettes to smokefree nicotine products and allowed illegal products to fill the void.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Thus, if nicotine sulphate is applied before rather than after the apple blossoms turn pink one of the important predators is spared, probably because it is still in the egg stage.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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