nitrous acid

American

noun

Chemistry.

an acid, HNO 2 , known only in solution.

nitrous acid British

noun

Systematic name: dioxonitric(III) acid. a weak monobasic acid known only in solution and in the form of nitrite salts. Formula: HNO 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

nitrous acid Scientific

A weak inorganic acid existing only in solution or in the form of its salts. It can act either as an oxidizing agent or as a reducing agent. Chemical formula: HNO ₂ .

Etymology

Origin of nitrous acid

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Which of the following structures would we expect for nitrous acid?

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

The reaction of N2O3 with water gives a pale blue solution of nitrous acid, HNO2.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

Other nitrogen oxides include nitrous acid and nitric acid.

From Textbooks • Sep. 6, 2018

Ozone can oxidize or "burn" healthy tissue, and nitrogen oxides form nitrous acid and one of the major components of smog.

From Time Magazine Archive

This air is likewise decomposed by dephlogisticated nitrous acid, which by this means becomes phlogisticated.

From Heads of Lectures on a Course of Experimental Philosophy: Particularly Including Chemistry by Priestley, Joseph

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023