pyrethrin
Americannoun
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Also called pyrethrin I. a viscous, water-insoluble liquid, C 2 1 H 2 8 O 3 , extracted from pyrethrum flowers, used as an insecticide.
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Also called pyrethrin II. a like compound, C 2 2 H 2 8 O 5 , obtained and used similarly.
noun
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Also called: pyrethrin I. an oily water-insoluble compound used as an insecticide. Formula: C 21 H 28 O 3
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Also called: pyrethrin II. a compound of similar chemical structure and action, also found in pyrethrum. Formula: C 22 H 28 O 5
Etymology
Origin of pyrethrin
First recorded in 1830–40; pyrethr(um) + -in 2
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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.
Contact with a single, microscopic pyrethrin droplet can kill an adult mosquito.
From Salon • Oct. 26, 2019
Authorities have sprayed pyrethrin on more than 541,000 acres in recent weeks.
From Washington Times • Oct. 12, 2019
Most of these products have either pyrethrin or a pyrethroid as a main ingredient and those compounds have the same mode of action as DDT, which bed bugs have become resistant to.
From Scientific American • Jan. 23, 2012
Permethrin, found in Nix, is a synthetic pyrethrin with "a long track record of safety," Frankowski said.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 10, 2010
These synthetic chemicals have been fashioned after the natural pyrethrin bug deterrent in chrysanthemums.
From Washington Post • Mar. 8, 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.
