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silver nitrate

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noun Chemistry, Pharmacology.
a white, crystalline, water-soluble, bitter, corrosive, poisonous powder, AgNO3, produced by the reaction of silver and dilute nitric acid: used chiefly in the manufacture of photographic emulsions and mirrors, as a laboratory reagent, and in medicine as an antiseptic, astringent, and in the routine prophylaxis of ophthalmia neonatorum.
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Origin of silver nitrate

First recorded in 1880–85
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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British Dictionary definitions for silver nitrate

silver nitrate

noun
a white crystalline soluble poisonous substance used in making photographic emulsions, other silver salts, and as a medical antiseptic and astringent. Formula: AgNO 3See also lunar caustic
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 silver nitrate

silver nitrate

A poisonous, clear, crystalline compound that darkens when exposed to light. It is used in photography and silver plating, and as an external antiseptic. Chemical formula: AgNO3.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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