phosphine
Americannoun
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a colorless, poisonous, ill-smelling, flammable gas, PH 3 .
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any of certain organic derivatives of this compound.
noun
Etymology
Origin of phosphine
Explanation
Phosphine is a poisonous gas that has a strong, distinctively fishy smell. Exterminators sometimes use phosphine to kill pests or keep them from infesting shipments of grains. Phosphine is an effective way to kill bedbugs, rats, and other pests, but it can also be very dangerous for humans who are exposed to the toxic substance. The chemical is mainly used in industrial extermination, often to fumigate the goods on container ships, but it's also used in the semiconductor industry and is sometimes an ingredient in flame retardants. People who work with phosphine have to be careful to avoid inhaling it.
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.
"Proof has been found that this chemical product was used by the hotel," the report added, indicating that there was "solid proof" that the family "died as a result of phosphine gas".
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
The surprising part, however, is not that phosphine was found -- but that it appears absent from other brown dwarfs and gas giant exoplanets where scientists expected it.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2025
"Understanding the problem with phosphine was one of our first goals."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2025
The most plausible is phosphine gas, created from the fermentation of plant matter inside the soil’s low-oxygen environment.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 16, 2024
Some experiments reported by R. Granjon and P. Mauricheau-Beaupré in 1906 indicate, however, that phosphine in the gas is the primary cause of the growths upon non-injector burners.
From Acetylene, the Principles of Its Generation and Use A Practical Handbook on the Production, Purification, and Subsequent Treatment of Acetylene for the Development of Light, Heat, and Power by Leeds, F. H. (Frank Henley)
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.
