nitrobenzene

[nahy-troh-ben-zeen, -ben-zeen]

noun Chemistry.

a pale yellow, toxic, water-soluble liquid, C6H5NO2, produced by nitrating benzene with nitric acid: used chiefly in the manufacture of aniline.

Origin of nitrobenzene

First recorded in 1865–70; nitro- + benzene

Also called ni·tro·ben·zol

[nahy-troh-ben-zawl, -zol] /ˌnaɪ troʊˈbɛn zɔl, -zɒl/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nitrobenzene

Historical Examples of nitrobenzene

The nitrobenzoate is insoluble in ether alcohol, but is soluble in acetone, acetic acid, and nitrobenzene.
Researches on Cellulose
C. F. Cross
The purity of the product depends upon the quality of the benzene from which the nitrobenzene was prepared.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Part 1, Slice 1
Various
When this liquid was treated with a few drops of nitric acid mixture the smell of nitrobenzene was given off.
Synthesis of 2-methyl-4-selenoquinazolone, 2-phenylbenzoselenazole, and its derivatives
Y-Gwan Chen
The residue of nitric acid which replaces hydrogen in benzene is the nitro-group, and the compound is nitrobenzene.
Coal
Raphael Meldola
It also appears as an intermediate product in the electrolytic reduction of nitrobenzene in sulphuric acid solution.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 2
Various

British Dictionary definitions for nitrobenzene

nitrobenzene

noun

a yellow oily toxic water-insoluble liquid compound, used as a solvent and in the manufacture of aniline. Formula: C 6 H 5 NO 2

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