nitroglycerin

American  

[nahy-truh-glis-er-in] / ˌnaɪ trəˈglɪs ər ɪn /

Also nitroglycerine

noun

Chemistry, Pharmacology.

1. a colorless, thick, oily, flammable, highly explosive, slightly water-soluble liquid, C 3 H 5 N 3 O 9 , prepared from glycerol with nitric and sulfuric acids: used chiefly as a constituent of dynamite and other explosives, in rocket propellants, and in medicine as a vasodilator in the treatment of angina pectoris.

---

nitroglycerin Scientific  

/ nī′trō-glĭs′ər-ĭn /

1. A thick, pale-yellow, explosive liquid formed by treating glycerin with nitric and sulfuric acids. It is used to make dynamite and in medicine to dilate blood vessels. Chemical formula: C ₃ H ₅ N ₃ O ₉ .

---

Etymology

Origin of nitroglycerin

First recorded in 1855–60; nitro- + glycerin

Example Sentences

As if those choices were comparably distasteful when, in fact, one is vanilla and the other is nitroglycerin.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2023

Doctors had been prescribing nitroglycerin for angina and other heart ailments for over a century — including, coincidentally, to Alfred Nobel, who founded the Nobel Prizes.

From New York Times • Sep. 6, 2023

And that was before the idiotic failure to call 911 or at least grab the emergency nitroglycerin pill she knew was in the bedside drawer.

From Salon • Dec. 15, 2021

Since then, he has kept nitroglycerin pills in his left pocket for pain relief.

From Washington Post • Nov. 20, 2020

Before his examination, Haupt went outside and swallowed three nitroglycerin pills to make his heart beat rapidly.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Related Words

• ammunition
• bomb
• booby trap
• detonator
• dynamite
• gunpowder
• mine
• missile
• munition
• powder