potassium chlorate

American

noun

Chemistry.

a white or colorless, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous solid, KClO 3 , used chiefly as an oxidizing agent in the manufacture of explosives, fireworks, matches, bleaches, and disinfectants.

potassium chlorate British

noun

a white crystalline soluble substance used in fireworks, matches, and explosives, and as a disinfectant and bleaching agent. Formula: KClO 3

"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

Etymology

Origin of potassium chlorate

First recorded in 1880–85

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.

The masks release chemicals like barium peroxide, sodium chlorate, and potassium chlorate.

From Salon • Aug. 9, 2021

Solid potassium chlorate, KClO3, decomposes to form solid potassium chloride and diatomic oxygen gas.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

Sodium chlorate is a weed killer; potassium chlorate is used as an oxidizing agent.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

These chemicals were mainly ammonium-nitrate fertilizer or potassium chlorate shipped from China for use in Pakistan’s match industry and then smuggled across the border.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2016

“Potassium nitrate. KNO3. The same as potassium chlorate except it has a nitrogen atom instead of a chlorine one.”

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

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