sodium fluoride

American  

noun

1. a colorless, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous solid, NaF, used chiefly in the fluoridation of water, as an insecticide, and as a rodenticide.

---

sodium fluoride Scientific  

1. A colorless, crystalline salt used to fluoridate water and treat tooth decay. It is also used as an insecticide and a disinfectant. Chemical formula: NaF.

---

Etymology

Origin of sodium fluoride

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

“However, this is still not likely as there was at least some sodium fluoride which would help preserve the sample.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

The team also demonstrated that the sodium fluoride generated through this method can be used immediately, without additional purification, to synthesize other valuable fluorine-containing compounds used in pharmaceuticals, diagnostic tools, and specialty chemicals.

From Science Daily • Nov. 27, 2025

This grinding causes the materials to react at room temperature, breaking the carbon-fluorine bonds within Teflon and producing harmless carbon along with sodium fluoride, a stable salt widely used in fluoride toothpaste.

From Science Daily • Nov. 27, 2025

Solid calcium fluoride can also be prepared by the reaction of aqueous solutions of calcium chloride and sodium fluoride, yielding aqueous sodium chloride as the other product.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

It melts at -83°C and boils at 19.4°C. In it are dissolved varying quantities of metallic and non-metallic fluorides, such as boron trifluoride, sodium fluoride, etc.

From Uller Uprising by Clark, John D.