nitrile

[ nahy-tril, -treel, -trahyl ]

nounChemistry.

any of a class of organic compounds with the general formula RC≡N.

Origin of nitrile

1840–50; nitr- + -ile, perhaps variant of -yl

Words Nearby nitrile

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

How to use nitrile in a sentence

I spent an hour sprinting to four drug stores, three of which were sold out of the blue non-latex nitrile gloves I sought.
The Last Erotic Massage | Arianne Cohen | May 21, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
This compound combines with hydrocyanic acid to form a nitrile which hydrolyses to dichlor-hydroxy iso-butyric acid.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 4 | Various
This process is the exact reverse of the nitrile synthesis, described above.
The Chemistry of Plant Life | Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
Emulsin also decomposes amygdalin directly into these compounds without the intermediate formation of mandelic nitrile glucoside.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 2 | Various
Provided the solid nitrile is not present in too great excess.
The Phase Rule and Its Applications | Alexander Findlay

At this point there exists the invariant system solid nitrile, two liquid phases, vapour.
The Phase Rule and Its Applications | Alexander Findlay

British Dictionary definitions for nitrile

nitrile

/ (ˈnaɪtrɪl, -traɪl) /

noun

any one of a class of organic compounds containing the monovalent group -CN: Also called (not in technical usage): cyanide

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 nitrile

nitrile

An organic compound, such as acrylonitrile, containing the cyanide group CN. Nitriles are typically colorless solids or liquids and have a distinctive smell.

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