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pentaerythritol tetranitrate

American  

noun

Chemistry, Pharmacology.

  1. a white, crystalline, water-insoluble, explosive solid, C 5 H 8 N 4 O 1 2 , used chiefly as a high explosive and as a vasodilator in treating angina pectoris.

Etymology

Origin of pentaerythritol tetranitrate

First recorded in 1920–25

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.

PETN, or pentaerythritol tetranitrate, is hard to detect.

From Washington Post • Dec. 26, 2010

By early evening, emergency officials had contained the spill of PETN, or the powerful explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate, according to Karen Fox, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina State Ports Authority.

From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2010

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.