nitrile

American  

[nahy-tril, -treel, -trahyl] / ˈnaɪ trɪl, -tril, -traɪl /

noun

Chemistry.

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

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nitrile British  

/ ˈnaɪtrɪl, -traɪl /

noun

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

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nitrile Scientific  

/ nī′trəl /

1. 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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Etymology

Origin of nitrile

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

Example Sentences

While preparing the sampling surfaces, Clough followed standard practice and wore nitrile gloves.

From Science Daily • Mar. 29, 2026

After Hartalega’s 3Q earnings beat, Wong raises the glove maker’s earnings forecasts for FY2026 by 99% to factor in stronger plant utilization, lower tax rates and reduced nitrile latex costs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

A musician called Safana Bakleh gave her group of volunteers face masks and blue nitrile gloves along with instructions about photographing and collecting documents.

From BBC • Dec. 16, 2024

It made a few investments in the manufacturing of other crucial P.P.E., such as isolation gowns and nitrile gloves, which are also produced largely overseas and subject to similar shortfalls.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2020

It usually happens, however, that two stereo-isomers result from the "step-up" by way of the nitrile reaction; thus, arabinose yields a mixture of glucose and mannose, glucose yields glucoheptose and mannoheptose, etc.

From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Thatcher, Roscoe Wilfred