oxalic acid

nounChemistry.

a white, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous acid, H2C2O4⋅2H2O, first discovered in the juice of the wood sorrel species of oxalis and obtained by reacting carbon monoxide with sodium hydroxide or certain carbohydrates with acids or alkalis: used chiefly for bleaching, as a cleanser, and as a laboratory reagent.

Origin of oxalic acid

First recorded in 1785–95

Words Nearby oxalic acid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use oxalic acid in a sentence

It’s sometimes possible to lighten stains with chemicals such as oxalic acid, but you’d also need to refinish the floor.
How to clean and care for hardwood floors | Jeanne Huber | October 8, 2021 | Washington Post
The oxalic acid in sorrel is an irritant poison, causing retching and violent pains.
Irish Witchcraft and Demonology | St. John D. (St. John Drelincourt) Seymour
Its resistance is at once overcome by flooding it with a poison, probably oxalic acid.
Makers of British Botany; a collection of biographies by living botanists | Various
Chromic and nitric acids oxidize it to oxalic acid and carbon dioxide.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 1 | Various
On digestion of its warm aqueous solution with warm dilute sulphuric acid, hydrazine sulphate and oxalic acid are obtained.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 1 | Various

As it is, the oxalic acid weakened the fibre so that we have had to darn it.
Brenda's Ward | Helen Leah Reed

British Dictionary definitions for oxalic acid

oxalic acid

/ (ɒkˈsælɪk) /

noun

a colourless poisonous crystalline dicarboxylic acid found in many plants: used as a bleach and a cleansing agent for metals. Formula: (COOH) 2: Systematic name: ethanedioic acid

Origin of oxalic acid

C18: from French oxalique, from Latin oxalis garden sorrel; see oxalis

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

Scientific definitions for oxalic acid

oxalic acid

[ ŏk-săl′ĭk ]

A poisonous, crystalline acid found in a number of plants such as sorrel and the leaf blades of rhubarb. It is used for many industrial purposes, including rust removal and bleaching. Chemical formula: C2H2O4.

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