nitrogen

[ nahy-truh-juh n ]

/ ˈnaɪ trə dʒən /

noun Chemistry.

a colorless, odorless, gaseous element that constitutes about four-fifths of the volume of the atmosphere and is present in combined form in animal and vegetable tissues, especially in proteins: used chiefly in the manufacture of ammonia, nitric acid, cyanide, explosives, fertilizer, dyes, as a cooling agent, etc. Symbol: N; atomic weight: 14.0067; atomic number: 7; density: 1.2506 g/l at 0°C and 760 mm pressure.

Nearby words

Origin of nitrogen

From the French word nitrogène, dating back to 1785–95. See nitro-, -gen

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

Examples from the Web for nitrogen

Grosvenor Place, which runs alongside the palace, has almost four times the maximum permissible amount of nitrogen dioxide.
Pollution At The Palace|Tom Sykes|February 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In any case some allowance should be made for the amount of nitrogen collected by the legumes.
The Pecan and its Culture|H. Harold Hume
If oxygen is combined with nitrogen, it produces five deadly poisons, viz.
A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar|Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen are all lifeless bodies.
Lay Sermons, Addresses and Reviews|Thomas Henry Huxley

He had to return to the conception of the individual particles of oxygen, nitrogen, and water, each a center of repulsion.
An Introduction to the History of Science|Walter Libby
We have already referred to the nitrogen question in the historical introduction.
Manures and the principles of manuring|Charles Morton Aikman

British Dictionary definitions for nitrogen

nitrogen

/ (ˈnaɪtrədʒən) /

noun

a colourless odourless relatively unreactive gaseous element that forms 78 per cent (by volume) of the air, occurs in many compounds, and is an essential constituent of proteins and nucleic acids: used in the manufacture of ammonia and other chemicals and as a refrigerant. Symbol: N; atomic no: 7; atomic wt: 14.00674; valency: 3 or 5; density: 1/2506 kg/m³; melting pt: –210.00°C; boiling pt: –195.8°C
(as modifier)nitrogen cycle

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

Word Origin and History for nitrogen

nitrogen

1794, from French nitrogène, coined 1790 by French chemist Jean Antoine Chaptal (1756-1832), from comb. form of Greek nitron "sodium carbonate" (see nitro-) + French gène "producing," from Greek -gen "giving birth to" (see -gen). The gas was identified in part by analysis of nitre. Earlier name (1772) was mephitic air, and Lavoisier called it azote (see azo-).

Medicine definitions for nitrogen

nitrogen

[ nī′trə-jən ]

n. Symbol N

A nonmetallic element that constitutes nearly four fifths of the air by volume, occurring as a colorless, odorless, almost inert diatomic gas, N2, in various minerals and in all proteins. Atomic number 7.

Science definitions for nitrogen

nitrogen

[ nī′trə-jən ]

N

A nonmetallic element that makes up about 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume, occurring as a colorless, odorless gas. It is a component of all proteins, making it essential for life, and it is also found in various minerals. Nitrogen is used to make ammonia, nitric acid, TNT, and fertilizers. Atomic number 7; atomic weight 14.0067; melting point -209.86°C; boiling point -195.8°C; valence 3, 5. See Periodic Table. See Note at oxygen.

Culture definitions for nitrogen

nitrogen

A chemical element that makes up about four-fifths of the atmosphere of the Earth. Its symbol is N.

Note

Like carbon, nitrogen is a necessary element in the tissues of living things.