nitrous oxide

See more synonyms for nitrous oxide on Thesaurus.com

noun Chemistry, Pharmacology.

a colorless, sweet-smelling, sweet-tasting, nonflammable, slightly water-soluble gas, N2O, that sometimes produces a feeling of exhilaration when inhaled: used chiefly as an anesthetic in dentistry and surgery, in the manufacture of chemicals, and as an aerosol.

Origin of nitrous oxide

First recorded in 1790–1800

Also called laughing gas.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for nitrous oxide

anesthetic

Examples from the Web for nitrous oxide

Historical Examples of nitrous oxide

To him is to be credited the first operation ever performed without pain by the use of nitrous-oxide gas.
An Epitome of the History of Medicine
Roswell Park
In 1844, Horace Wells, a native of Vermont, discovered that the inhalation of nitrous-oxide gas produces anaesthesia.
Stories Of Georgia
Joel Chandler Harris
It was then and not until then that the nitrous-oxide plant began running at anything like its real capacity.
With the Doughboy in France
Edward Hungerford

British Dictionary definitions for nitrous oxide

nitrous oxide

noun

a colourless nonflammable slightly soluble gas with a sweet smell: used as an anaesthetic in dentistry and surgery. Formula: N 2 OSystematic name: dinitrogen oxide Also called: laughing gas

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 oxide in Medicine

nitrous oxide

A colorless sweet-tasting gas used as a mild anesthetic in dentistry and surgery.

nitrous oxide in Science

nitrous oxide

A colorless, sweet-smelling gas. It is used as a mild anesthetic, often called laughing gas. Nitrous oxide occurs naturally in the atmosphere and is a greenhouse gas. Chemical formula: N2O.