phosphorus pentoxide

[ pen-tok-sahyd, -sid ]

/ pɛnˈtɒk saɪd, -sɪd /

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noun Chemistry.

a white, deliquescent, crystalline powder, P2O5, that, depending upon the amount of water it absorbs, forms orthophosphoric acid, metaphosphoric acid, or pyrophosphoric acid, produced by the burning of phosphorus in dry air: used in the preparation of phosphoric acids, as a drying and dehydrating agent, and in organic synthesis.

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Also called phosphoric anhydride.

Words nearby phosphorus pentoxide

phosphoroscope, phosphorous, phosphorous acid, phosphorus, phosphorus 32, phosphorus pentoxide, phosphorus sesquisulfide, phosphorus trichloride, phosphorylase, phosphorylate, phosphorylation

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

How to use phosphorus pentoxide in a sentence

The ones that launched phosphorus bombs and used chemical weapons?
Paul Auster’s Criticism of Turkey’s Treatment of Writers Rebuked by P.M.|Oray Egin|February 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The silver rays struck upon their foreheads wet with the vapors of night, and made them like frost seen through phosphorus.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend|Charles Reade
From the amount of phosphorus found there appears to be about one dose of phosphoric acid to a twenty-ounce bottle.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various
Leading physiologists quite generally agree that phosphorus in the form of glycerophosphates influences metabolism very little.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various

In its elementary form, phosphorus is difficult to handle, and therefore not convenient for use.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various
The existence in the system of a form of phosphorus less highly oxidized than the phosphates is unproved.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various

British Dictionary definitions for phosphorus pentoxide

phosphorus pentoxide

noun

a white odourless solid produced when phosphorus burns: has a strong affinity for water with which it forms phosphoric acids. Formula: P 2 O 5 (commonly existing as the dimer P 4 O 10)Also called: phosphoric anhydride

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