saltpeter

or salt·pe·tre

[ sawlt-pee-ter ]
/ ˌsɔltˈpi tər /

noun

the form of potassium nitrate, KNO3, that occurs naturally, used in the manufacture of fireworks, fluxes, gunpowder, etc.; niter.
Chile saltpeter.

QUIZZES

TAKE THIS QUIZ TO SEE WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT 2ND-3RD GRADE VOCAB FROM BOOKS!

Are you learning new vocabulary? Or do you just have an interest in words? Either way, this quiz is for you.
Question 1 of 10
orchard
body of land completely surrounded by water
group of cultivated fruit trees
long mournful cry
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of saltpeter

1275–1325; earlier salt peter; replacing Middle English sal peter, salpetre < Medieval Latin salpetrē, for Latin sal petrae salt of rock, so called because it commonly encrusts stones

Words nearby saltpeter

saltless, saltness, salto, salton sea, saltpan, saltpeter, saltpetre, salts, saltus, saltwater, saltwater taffy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for saltpetre

British Dictionary definitions for saltpetre

saltpetre

US saltpeter

/ (ˌsɔːltˈpiːtə) /

noun

another name for potassium nitrate
short for Chile saltpetre

Word Origin for saltpetre

C16: from Old French salpetre, from Latin sal petrae salt of rock
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

Scientific definitions for saltpetre

saltpeter
[ sôlt′pē′tər ]

See potassium nitrate.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.