nitrite

American  

[nahy-trahyt] / ˈnaɪ traɪt /

noun

1. Chemistry. a salt or ester of nitrous acid.

2. Nutrition. sodium nitrite.

---

nitrite British  

/ ˈnaɪtraɪt /

noun

1. any salt or ester of nitrous acid

---

nitrite Scientific  

/ nī′trīt′ /

1. A salt or ester of nitrous acid, containing the group NO ₂. Nitrites are an important component of the nitrogen cycle and are used as food preservatives.

2. Compare nitrate

---

Etymology

Origin of nitrite

First recorded in 1790–1800; nitr- + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

The analysis focused on 17 individual preservatives, including citric acid, lecithins, total sulfites, ascorbic acid, sodium nitrite, potassium sorbate, sodium erythorbate, sodium ascorbate, potassium metabisulfite, and potassium nitrate.

From Science Daily • Jan. 27, 2026

Depending on whom you ask, it is either the nitrite preservatives used in these products or the high levels of fat and salt.

From Slate • Aug. 2, 2025

She was prescribed a sodium bicarbonate infusion, but was instead given a sodium nitrite infusion.

From BBC • Jul. 22, 2024

Scientists have also studied poisons such as sodium nitrite, but they risk harming other species.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 21, 2023

I refer to the nitrite of amyl, which, at the time when the first part of this chapter was written, I had not had the opportunity of testing.

From Neuralgia and the Diseases that Resemble it by Anstie, Francis E.